Harry Potter and the Chambers' Secrets
by lebaumertonsvillian
Summary: AU Harry's fifth year. PowerfulHarry. Harry trains all summer, and Ginny is his source of power. Dumbledore reveals everything. HG early RHr later Chap 14 up.
1. Back to the Burrow

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Chambers' Secrets

Chapter One: Back to the Burrow

A boy of 14 years walked through the train station. He silently followed a large, pudgy man, a skinny woman, and another boy who could've been mistaken for a whale.

Harry Potter trudged as his mind wandered to the thing that his mind would always wander to: Voldemort. Harry had just witnessed the reforming of Voldemort's body, and they had fought and dueled with each other. Harry quickly pulled his mind away when he thought about Cedric dying, and the small devil-looking _thing _that was Voldemort.

Harry walked into the parking lot of the train station, and was about to get into the Dursleys' car, when something purple caught his eye. He turned to see Dumbledore, still dressed in bright robes, striding toward him. This was the first time Harry had seen Dumbledore outside of Hogwarts.

"Harry," Dumbledore started. "It has just now come to my mind, that you are no longer safe at the Dursleys'," Dumbledore said waving a hand at his uncle, aunt, and cousin. "Voldemort used your blood to come back, and since he can now touch you, it would make sense that he would be able to get tough the ancient blood protection charm protecting you at Petunia's."

Harry noticed his aunt flinch at the name, and then tense up as Dumbledore concluded his explanation. Harry wondered what she knew about Voldemort.

"So you're saying I don't have to go with them?" Harry asked, now pointing at his 'family.'

"Precisely, I assume you would like to go to the Burrow; I would offer you to come to Hogwarts, but that is not possible at the moment." Dumbledore now looked a bit angry, but quickly his eyes were twinkling again. "Now Harry, I have spoken with Molly and Arthur, and they have agreed wholeheartedly to allow you to stay with them."

Voldemort nearly forgotten, Harry asked Dumbledore if he could stay the whole summer. Dumbledore shrugged it off saying, "We'll see."

Dumbledore looked up at Petunia and asked to speak with her. They walked a short distance off, and began talking animatedly. Harry turned to his Uncle and swallowed his pride and said, "Uncle Vernon, thank you for coming to get me, and taking me in thirteen years ago."

Vernon looked shocked but quickly regained composure. "Well, it's about time you thanked me, all those years I had to put up with you…" he continued on, but Harry tuned him out.

"Well," Harry said interrupting him, "No more putting up with me now I suppose." Harry took something out of his pocket and slipped it into Dudley's. _Fred and George will be pleased_, Harry thought.

Petunia came back looking pale and scared. Dumbledore followed behind her, twinkle still in his eyes. Harry said his goodbye's once more and left with Dumbledore. When they were a short distance away from any eyes, Dumbledore turned to Harry, and waved his wand casting a spell around them. "Harry, I said it just last week, and I'll say in once more, your bravery and courage has been beyond any I know. I have said that it is not our abilities but our choices that make us who we are. Your choices definitely show who you are, so now I want to bring out your abilities to, how shall I say, make your choices more influential. Next school year, if…excuse me…when we return to Hogwarts, I would like to meet with you alone. I don't know how often, but we will see."

"Erm, okay Professor. What will we be doing?" Harry asked curiously.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eye got brighter as he said, "Ah, Harry that is for me to know, and you to find out." He chuckled and changed the subject, "The Weasley's are waiting for you, Harry. If I am not mistaken, they have borrowed one of the ministry's cars again." They had started walking toward the parking lot again, and Dumbledore pointed to a van with a bunch of red heads surrounding it.

Harry smiled at his favorite family as Dumbledore stated, "I'm sure we will see each other before school starts again, Harry. I beg you to trust me with anything that happens while you are at the Weasley's. I must now go back to Hogwarts," the twinkle in his eyes suddenly left,"to deal with some unfortunate business." Harry looked as his headmaster bid him farewell and went back in the direction of platform nine and three-quarters.

Harry walked to the van where the Weasley's greeted him as if they hadn't seen him an hour earlier. After several hugs from Mrs. Weasley, they got into the van, which was much larger on the inside. Harry went to the far back, where he was joined by Ron and Ginny. The twins rode in the middle, with their parents in front.

Harry was anxious to get his mind away from pressing matters, so he brought up a conversation. "I wonder if Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle are still on the train. No one really cares enough about them to help them, right?" The teenagers all started laughing.

Ginny piped up. "I wish I could've seen them, or at least helped a little." Harry laughed at this, and he was surprised to hear Ginny speak a full sentence. She joined in the laughter and grinned at Harry.

The ride to the Burrow was uneventful, and when they arrived, Harry started up the stairs to Ron's room. Mrs. Weasley looked up and called out, "Harry, dear, you will be staying in Percy's old room."

"That's ok, I like sleeping in Ron's."

"No, I insist, please?" Mrs. Weasley pleaded. Harry thought Dumbledore might have asked to do this.

"Ok, Mrs. Weasley, whatever you want." Harry sighed and climbed the stairs to Percy's old room. The room was a bit larger than Ron's and Harry felt guilty. But if that's what they wanted, he would oblige.

Harry quickly made a decision. He decided that he would help in any way he could, and try not to be a burden. He was sure that he would play a larger role in everything than anyone else, but he also knew he didn't have the experience that the others had. He admitted to himself he needed help, and Dumbledore was on the top of his list of people he could trust.

Harry silently unpacked what little he had. Right as he pulled out his album of his parents, he heard someone walk in. He assumed it was Ron. Harry flipped to his parent's wedding night, and saw Sirius, the best man, laughing. "I wonder what Sirius is up to now. So do you think he's in better condition now that a few more people have acknowledged his innocence?"

A gruff voice answered, "I sure think he is."

Harry whirled around to see his godfather standing at the doorway. "Sirius!" he exclaimed as he ran over to hug him.

"Hey Harry." Sirius looked well fed and a little more like he was in the picture. "Let me tell you, Molly's cooking sure has hit the spot these last couple weeks. I've been staying here since Dumbledore showed Molly I was innocent. She insisted that I stay here for a while."

"Hasn't it been awkward, has she been scared at all…it's a lot to take in that a convicted murderer of 16 people is innocent." Harry said.

"Once I told Molly the whole story, she was so upset over my false twelve years in Azkaban that she forgot completely about her fears….it's kind of scary how mother-like she has been to me, she only just older than me." Sirius shuddered.

"So how long will you stay here?"

"Well, since you kicked me out of my room," Sirius joked, "then I guess just until tonight."

Harry didn't want him to leave, and it must've shown, because Sirius added, "I'll be dropping in quite often. I mean, there isn't a lot one can do when he is being searched for all across Britain now is there?" Harry laughed and was happy again.

They walked down the stairs together laughing about a story Sirius told them about when he and James were in school. "So then, McGonagall said to James, '50 points from Slytherin,' and it took everything in James, well the polyjuice potion made him look like Snape, not to laugh."

Harry then told Sirius about when he used polyjuice potion in his second year. Sirius laughed when he told them what happened to Hermione after she took it. "Boy, you are almost as big of a trouble maker as we were….although we were doing it to cause mischief whereas you did it to stop evil…wow, I guess I should learn from you." Sirius laughed, and Harry found he really enjoyed hearing him laugh.

"Sirius, teach me everything you know throughout the summer …we all need some things to laugh about now that Voldemort's back." Harry remembered saying the same sort of thing to Fred and George when he gave them his tournament winnings.

"I'll be able to do more than teach you, Harry." Sirius smiled and walked off leaving Harry to wonder what he meant.

Dinner was delicious as always when made by Mrs. Weasley. Afterwards, Sirius bid farewell and thanked Mrs. Weasley countless times before waving to everyone as he disapparated.

Harry sighed happily when he thought about Sirius being a little happier. He looked over to find the twins, Ron, and Ginny looking at him. Ginny quickly said, "How 'bout a game of quidditch before we turn in, Harry?"

Harry was once again surprised at her speaking in front of him, much less to him, but smiled and nodded to her. "I didn't know you played quidditch, Ginny."

"What else was I supposed to do in your first year when all my brothers were gone…?" She smiled again and Harry thought he liked it when she smiled, too.

They went outside, and the five of them played a five-person variation of quidditch, which left Ron on his broom while the other four hit bludgers and threw the quaffle at him. He dodged the bludgers and caught the quaffle when he could. Harry yelled to him, "You would make a fair keeper this next year, Ron."

Harry took his turn next and dodged all the bludgers easily, but when Ginny threw the quaffle he barely caught it and it knocked him to the side and he had to flip upside down due to the power behind the throw. "And you would make an excellent chaser next year, Ginny." Ginny smiled, and surprisingly didn't blush too much at his compliment.

Harry got up and looked at Ginny who was lost in her thoughts. The sun reflected off of her hair, showing off several different shades and colors. He thought she looked wonderful, up in the air. _Woah, Potter. What are you thinking?_

It was Ginny's turn to dodge, and he enjoyed her smart remarks she made to her brothers. All in all, he was very glad she seemed to be over the crush, because he found he really likes this Ginny Weasley.

Soon, they went in to dinner, and Harry was once again reminded of how wonderful Mrs. Weasley's cooking was.

As Ron took his first bite and swallowed. As he brought his next bit of food up to his mouth, he seemed to be struggling at opening it.

George and Fred looked at Ginny. "Our little sis is growing up." George sniffled. Fred wiped a tear away.

Ginny stood and bowed. "Thank you, thank you!"

Ron merely growled and made grunting noises as he tried to open his mouth. He then lunged at his sister who easily got out of his way. Harry enjoyed watching the game of tag for the next while, and couldn't stop thinking about the prank as he fell asleep that night.


	2. Magic Happens

_Harry's eyes closed as he tried to stop the pain in his scar from making his head explode._

_From far away, above Harry's head, he heard a high, cold voice say, 'Kill the spare.'_

_A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words into the night: 'Avada Kedavra!'_

_Harry, come on! Open your eyes; look at me!_

Harry was drenched in cold sweat, and he gasped as he opened his eyes, and realization hit him as he remembered where he was. "Harry, you were thrashing about, I heard you from my room next door."

Harry looked at the wonderful voice talking to him. He could listen to it all night. _Wait, that's Ginny._ "Ginny, what…just a dream…don't worry about it."

"Nice try Harry, I know a true nightmare when I see one. Was it about You-Know-Who?"

Harry couldn't help but answer truthfully, her voice made him feel calm. "Yea, it was. And Ginny, just say his name…it is just a name."

"You're right…What did—"Ginny tightened up"—Voldemort do in the dream?"

"What did he do? He was in it…isn't that enough?" Harry asked. Harry instantly felt bad for his tone.

Ginny looked taken aback. "Of course you're right…but if you don't want to talk about it just say that, you don't have to snap at me." Ginny had older brothers; she knew how the mind works.

Harry looked into her brown eyes, and though it was dark he knew she was anxious to hear. He sighed, "Well, you've heard about his return obviously, but you never heard the whole story." Harry sighed again, and he began to tell her how it happened. Some time during his explanation he began to shiver, partly because of his cold sweat, and also out of the terror of it. When he finished, he found Ginny was holding his hand tightly.

"I had no idea it was that horrible. Oh merlin, Harry. I'm so sorry."

"You have no reason to be…you should get back to bed now." Harry didn't want her to go, but he needed to sort this out.

Ginny silently nodded and stood to leave. When she reached the door she heard Harry's voice, "Thank you Ginny….this has surprisingly helped a lot." She just nodded again and left.

Harry woke up early the next morning, and thought he would go for a run to strengthen himself. If he was to ever face Voldemort again, which he knew he would, he would need to be ready, both magically and physically.

When he got to the bottom of the stairs he saw Ginny staring sleepily at her empty plate on the kitchen table. "Wow, that looks tasty," Harry said, "Can I have some?"

She looked up startled at someone being up at the early hour, and then she smiled. "Sure, catch." She pretended to scoop some food off of her plate and throw it at Harry. He pretended to catch the food and threw it back at her. In midair, the pretend food turned into eggs and splattered in Ginny's face.

"Oh gosh, Ginny I'm so sorry," Harry lifted his hand pointing at the eggs and suddenly they disappeared. "What just happened, Gin?"

"I have no idea., that was rea…did you just call me Gin?

"Oh, erm, sorry, I didn't think; I just said that."

"No, its ok…you've just never called me that before…"

Harry laughed, "Well we've never had enough of a conversation to allow me to call you anything really…" Suddenly Harry tensed up. "Oh no, Ginny, did I just do magic? I'm underage!"

"Don't worry about it, they won't know it's you. The ministry can't pin magic on any one person; they just know the general area…they'll think Mum just made some eggs or something."

"That explains why I got a letter when Dobby did magic at the Dursleys'." Harry saw Ginny's confused expression, so he told her all about Dobby in his second year. She laughed at the story, and Harry's stomach flipped.

"You know, I was going to go for a run, but how bout we play some quiditch?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Sure, I never got to be the dodger yesterday, so you can throw stuff at me again," she joked.

"What are you doing up so early, Gin? I always thought you slept in." Harry wondered if it had something to do with his nightmare,

"You've been watching my sleep pattern…Harry, I'm surprised at you." She broke into fits of laughter when she saw his shocked face.

"Let's just go play," Harry inwardly loved her laugh, and he would gladly be made fun of to hear her laugh.

They walked out into the morning light. It was just past dawn, and the sun's rays beat down peacefully upon them. Harry went to the shed and grabbed his _Firebolt_ and Ginny's broomstick, and he gave her it. They took off together, Harry's worries of the nightmare left on the grassy hill below him. He looked over at Ginny, and once again caught himself thinking she was pretty.

Ginny took only a quaffle in the air with them, and they began passing it back and forth getting warmed up. Then she threw it harder and harder until Harry had to let it pass him and fly after it. They were both laughing, but Harry couldn't be outdone by a girl, even if her hair and face were distracting him.

Harry wound up and threw the ball, only to watch in horror as it flew so quickly that Ginny didn't even see it coming. The ball was such a blur; even the best chaser couldn't throw a quaffle that fast. The ball seemed to hit her the second he released it, and he watched as she flew off her broom and sailed toward the ground.

With his seeker expertise he dove quicky and caught her before she smacked into the ground, and he pulled up. She seemed unharmed, amazingly. "oh my….Ginny are you ok? I'm so sorry, Gin, I never meant to hurt you."

Ginny smiled at him but said quickly, "Could you get my broom before," CRACK! Ginny looked in terror as her broom broke into a hundred pieces on the ground below. Harry's mind was racing…he had a beautiful girl in his arms, who was probably about to kill him.

Harry flew down near the ground, still holding Ginny unnecessarily with one arm. She let him hold her, though. He landed softly and looked into her chocolate browns…she seemed to be smiling. "Ginny I'm so sorry, are you hurt?"

"Amazingly, Harry, all that speeding quaffle did was knock me off my broom, you must have made it magically speed up and put a softening charm on it. You know Harry, just because I told you that you can get away with magic, you shouldn't go using it. Where is your wand anyway?"

"I…don't have my wand. It's upstairs, in Percy's room." Harry was starting to get scared. "I haven't done accidental magic since I blew up my aunt. What is wrong?"

"You did what? Another time, for now, we need to figure out what's wrong with you. Hmm," she said, looking him up and down, "you seem perfect to…that is, perfectly fine…to me…" Ginny was afraid her shyness was coming back after being so close to Harry on his broom.

"I, er, know what you meant. I need to get you a new broom though. I am such a moron…how can you still want…to talk to…me?" Harry was getting distracted by her appearance again when he suddenly felt his scar burst into pain.

Ginny watched in terror as Harry bent over, hand on his hand, and rolled to the ground where he started shaking. She dropped to her knees quickly and put her hand on his shoulder. The pain immediately left Harry's scar, but he was still in shock like when one first jumps into freezing cold water.

Harry rolled over on his back and looked up into Ginny's eyes. He could get lost in them. He settled down, but was still breathing heavily when he stuttered, "Thank you again Ginny, that's the second time you've saved me in just a few hours."

"I never saved you Harry; I'm just here to help you. Besides, I didn't do anything, it just stopped." Ginny looked into Harry's eyes…she could get lost in those eyes.

Harry sat up on his elbows closing some of the distance between his and Ginny's face. He was still looking into her eyes. They began to close the gap between their faces when they both came to their senses. Harry rolled over and pushed himself up just as Ginny pushed herself up.

Ginny broke the tension by saying, "Besides me not saving you, you saved me on your broomstick just barely, and…I've never properly thanked you, but you saved me from the most evil thing to walk this earth…so Harry, thank you, thank you so much."

Harry felt his head get hot, he didn't like attention like that, but he knew she needed to say it, so he let her finish before saying, "Nothing you wouldn't have done, Gin. There's no doubt in my mind."

They again became locked in each others when they heard the door open and Ron some running out. "Why didn't you wake me up?" he yelled from the door.

Harry and Ginny broke their gaze to look at Ron coming. They looked back at each other and knew exactly what the other was thinking. "Ron, we did try to wake you up…we were screaming for nearly ten minutes, but you were too stubborn to wake up." Harry had started it and Ginny moved in for the kill.

"Then I got some water and dumped it over your body…you still didn't wake up. Aren't you wondering why you're wet?" Ginny expected Ron to look down at his pajamas and get angry he had fell for such a simple prank. However, as Ron looked down, he saw he was completely soaked though to his skin.

Harry tore his admiring gaze away from Ginny when he saw where she was going with the joke, and he pointed at Ron's pajamas to add emphasis to her story. Suddenly, as Ron looked down at his pajamas, they were completely drenched. Harry gasped when he realized he must've done more magic.

Ron didn't think it was magic; no, he thought it was Ginny. He looked in shock at his wet pajamas, and said, "How could I have not felt this before?"

Ginny looked over at Harry as if trying to scold him, but then she burst out laughing again. She was surprised to see him doing magic…_I don't know how he can be doing magic without his wand_. _Accidental magic only works when a witch or wizard gathers hidden magic and a strong emotion let it out in some way. He couldn't have that much hidden magic…he must be doing real magic accidentally…and without a wand. _It dawned on her. _This is the early stage of wandless magic._ Ginny only knew of a few wizards that could do wandless magic.

"Dumbledore and V…Voldemort are the only two in this century that can do it, Harry. Until now…now you are, too." Ginny was trying to explain her thoughts to Harry. They were alone eating lunch while Ron was using the bathroom.

"Listen Gin, there's no special magic talent in me. I've just been lucky so far. The Priori Incantatem, my mother's protection, other peoples' guidance…none of it is me…" he finished lamely. Besides, you said I was doing wandless magic accidentally…itsn't that just accidental magic?"

"No, Harry," she adapted a voice like she were talking to a four year- old. "Accidental magic wouldn't have conjured and egg out of no where…and it certainly wouldn't soften a quaffle, or even drench someone in water. Now tell me about blowing up your aunt!" She finished, making her statement final and allowing no room for Harry to argue.

Harry saw the issue was over, and even began to wonder if she were right. However, the desire to hear her laugh came back, so he told her the story. When he finished, Ginny was giggling like mad, but not the annoying girl giggle most girls have. No, this was music to Harry's ears. Ron came out asking what was so funny, so they told him, starting up a whole new round of laughter.

Harry decided his scar bursting in pain like it had should be told to Dumbledore. Harry wrote his letter, not even leaving out the part where Ginny's touch ended the pain. Harry wanted to know what was going on. Hedwig took off to go north. When Harry walked back inside he saw Sirius emerge from the flames and Fred and George hide behind the kitchen table screaming for Harry to get out.

Harry laughed, realizing no one had bothered to tell them Sirius was innocent. They had no t seen him when they first got home because they barricaded themselves in their room, no doubt putting their new 1000 galleons to use.

Harry went up and hugged his godfather. The twins screamed at Harry's insanity. Both Harry and Sirius were laughing now. They thought the joke had gone on long enough so they told the twins to shut up. Harry gave them the run down of his third year and Sirius' acceptance into the fold since Voldemort's return.

They still looked skeptical, but that soon changed when they got into a discussion about the Marauder's map. The twins bowed down to one of the creators of the marvelous map. Sirius laughed again, causing Harry to feel happy.

Harry walked outside onto the front porch and heard the door open behind him. Harry turned around expecting Sirius but saw Ginny instead. Harry cleared his throat nervously, and then was surprised at his nervousness. "Hey Gin," Harry's voice cracked and he blushed.

Ginny snickered a little, "Well, looks like your voice is changing with your magic and body…height, I mean, body height."

"Oh, you're checking out my body are you? Besides you are changing as well." Harry instantly felt awkward as he said that.

Ginny saved the conversation when she didn't like where it was going. "How 'bout we go play some Quid…oh, I guess I need a broom to play, huh?"

"Oh crap, Gin, I'm so sorry. Let's go to Diagon Alley and get you a broom." Harry looked sincerely sorry.

"No, you are not going to get me a broom, I'll just use on of my brother's…old ones." Ginny sighed at the thought of having to borrow a broom all the time.

Harry suddenly got an idea, "Okay, that's fine I guess."

They went inside to eat dinner, and Sirius began telling the story of when they first found out Moony's secret. Then he told them about their animagus transformations. Harry talked with Sirius separately before saying he had to go to bed.

The next morning, Harry woke up early again and went downstairs. The flames erupted as Sirius stepped out carrying a package.

Ginny woke up early again wondering why she was getting up so early. She silently crept downstairs not wanting to wake anyone up. She walked down the stairs and looked over to find Harry standing next to a large box; a box that was shaped an awful lot like a broom. Harry whirled around to see Ginny standing openmouthed at the box.

He quickly pushed it behind his back, and then he brought it out handing it to her. "Erm, Sirius wanted to give this to you when he heard…about the incident." He smiled hoping she would buy his story.

She smiled at him, and shook her head, "I can't take this from you Harry. It wasn't your fault I fell off my broom, or that my broom broke."

"Actually, it was."

Ginny laughed, and he pushed the box into her hands. She really didn't want to take this from him, but a new broom would be wonderful. She reluctantly took it after several attempts to give it back. She opened up the box and gasped.

"Harry…this is too much, a _Brush with Death_? These are supposedly the second best brooms out."

"Well, I couldn't give you a _Firebolt_, because then my position on the team would be challenged, so I…" he stopped when Ginny turned and threw her arms around him. He loved holding her, and all too soon they broke apart.

"Harry, you are amazing, thank you so much." Then she turned and ran out the door, beckoning Harry to follow. Harry went to open the door, and as he lifted his hand the door blasted off its hinges.

Ginny spun around as she heard a crash and saw Harry shocked, still holding his hand where the doorknob used to be. "Harry, are you alright? What happened?"

Harry snapped out of his shock at the sound of her voice and muttered quietly, "I have got to write a letter really quick."

Harry raced to his room, and he found that Hedwig was still gone, so he ran into Ron's room and grabbed Pig. He ran back downstairs and pulled out some parchment and ink and wrote:

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_I have just done accidental magic for the fourth time in 24 hours. Ginny thinks it may be wandless magic, but I don't think so. I just thought you should know, because so far I have broken a broomstick and a door. I don't want to cause problems, so I thought you might be able to help me somehow. Also, I didn't tell you before, but I had a nightmare two nights ago. I didn't last night though, so that is good news I suppose._

_Harry_

Harry finished his letter and sealed it and gave it to Pig telling him to give it to Dumbledore. Pig flew out the open doorway. Harry sighed as he walked out to observe the damage. He started to pick the door up and Ginny appeared behind him. "Don't worry, Harry, a flick of my mom's wand will set that straight. However, I have been patiently waiting to try out this amazing broomstick."

Harry sighed relief and went to get his broomstick. They took off together and began a game of tag. Harry was still a better flier, and his broom helped him a bit more, but Ginny was a tough challenge. They flew around tagging each other. Ginny was it and just tagged Harry and sped off into the forest. Harry was hot on her heals, but her experience of the forest kept her ahead of him. Finally Harry crept up alongside her and grabbed the front of her boom, taking control of the broom somewhat.

They were fighting for control when they had to dodge a branch and both overcorrected coming back up, and Ginny was thrown off her broom. Harry, still holding her broom, went for another dive and caught Ginny moments before she hit the ground, again. He pulled up slightly, but soon he was bumped off his own broom and they flew a few feet down once again.

Harry landed softly on his back; the soft landing due to the fact that the brooms he was holding steadied him. Ginny also landed on her back in Harry's arm as they hit down. They slowed to a stop, both exhaling heavily. Harry looked over at Ginny, and they once again became locked in each other's eyes.

Before his conscience could tell him otherwise, Harry leaned over and brought his face closer to the glowing girl beside him. They met together in a kiss.

After several moments of fog--wonderful, awesome fog--Harry's mind cleared and told him what he was doing. He broke the kiss and looked at Ginny. Upon seeing her, his mind clouded over once more, and he went in for another kiss. Unnoticed to the two, flowers began popping up at random around them.

* * *

Ron woke up and went downstairs. _Those two better not have started without me aga—what happened to the door! _Ron stared at the open doorway, and fear crept up. _Did someone break in and take Harry? Ginny wasn't in her room either…oh no._

Ron walked outside cautiously and saw something even scarier than his mind had thought up.


	3. Everything Old is New Again

A/N: Because this is basically a different book 5, I will use many of the ideas of JK Rowling and they will appear in here differently than in books 5 and 6. For example, Harry does not yet know of the prophecy, but I still plan on using it later on. It will just be told differently, which is sad because Rowling is the best, and there is no way I could come close to making it cooler than hers. That having been said, I will not use ALL of her plot in this story. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't plan on it.

Chapter 3: Old and New

Ron stared as Harry and Ginny were locked in a kiss, brooms forgotten on the ground.

Ron was too shocked to make a noise at first. Then he blurted out, "Oi, mate… you….sister, wha…?"

Harry and Ginny broke and looked over at Ron's shocked face. They both went a little red, but not as red as Ron was. "Well, Ron, mate, I don't know what to say to that, because I have no idea what you said." Ginny started laughing and Harry's heart got a little lighter about the situation.

Ron stared back, then got a little cooler, "well, when did this happen…Harry, I had no idea you liked my sister…and Ginny, I thought you gave up on him."

Harry laughed, "Well, as soon as your wonderful sister became herself, I found I liked her…I really liked her. And it just happened about thirty minutes ago."

"And I gave up on Harry, I didn't get over him." They laughed at Ron's sour expression.

"Eww, this is so wrong…I can't believe this. Mum's going to flip with excitement. Fred and George are going to…you don't want to know. And…Ginny, whose broom is that?"

Ginny looked over at her forgotten broom. She had forgotten it because she got something much better right after. "Harry gave it to me, because he sort of broke my other one."

"THAT'S A _BRUSH WITH DEATH! _AND HE JUST GAVE IT TO YOU"

Ginny paused before saying, "Yea."

"Well I'll have to let you break my broomstick next time, Harry." Ron was getting uncomfortable, so Harry suggested they go inside. "Oh and what happened to the door?"

"I kind of broke that, too," Harry said ashamed.

"Well as long as you don't break Ginny's heart, too…I guess I'm ok with all this. I somehow thought it would happen." Ron struggled to say this, but he said it sincerely.

Harry sighed in relief, "Thanks mate." He then turned to Ginny and went in for another kiss.

"WOAH! No way, just because I said I'm okay with it, doesn't mean you can do _that_."

"Well, tough." Harry and Ginny said in unison.

They ate breakfast together, when Fred and George came downstairs to join them. Harry looked over at Ron to tell him not to say anything, but was too late. "Guess what? Harry and Ginny are going out."

Ginny looked like she was going to murder her brother on the spot. Fred and George looked over at the two, and the looks on their faces were confusing to Harry. Then it hit him. They were fighting the teasing, and it looked like it took all their strength to do it. Harry was suddenly a lot happier he gave them the 1000 galleon prize money.

Ron wasn't expecting them to say silent, so he told them off for losing their touch. They quickly turned on Ron, and whatever they held back on against Harry, the let it out on Ron. The rest of the day flew by in wonderful happiness.

That day was on Harry's Top 5 list of happiest days in his life. He had fun with the others making fun of Ron, then they played some games after the twins put the door back on. They were of age, so they could do magic whenever they wanted. Ginny showed off her new broom to her brothers, who were amazed at her flying skills. Then Mr. and Mrs. Weasley got home.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were overjoyed with the news that Harry and Ginny had gotten together. They were having a nice dinner when Sirius walked into the room. He looked at Ginny's and Harry's hands holding under the table, grinned, and let loose. Whatever the twins had refrained from saying, Harry's godfather made up for. Soon everyone was rolling on the ground laughing.

That night Sirius told Harry that Dumbledore got his letters and that Harry should expect to hear from him soon. Then Sirius began telling Harry about his mischievous days as a marauder. Harry got some wonderful ideas for his fifth year.

"Then Moony bit me, luckily he wasn't in wolf form at the time…that would've been bad. I do still have a strange scar, I wonder if werewolves have a poison in their saliva even when they aren't transformed." Sirius finished his story before motioning for Harry to go out of the room with him.

"Listen Harry, Dumbledore told me about your scar. Did something happen or did it just flame up?"

Harry answered, "No, it just starting hurting, but the only time it hurt that bad was two weeks ago when he touched me. I don't know what caused it or what pulled me out of it, but I do know that I had a strange feeling of anger until Ginny helped."

Sirius grinned, "Oh, you Potters and your redheads. James never got the girls until his 7th year…I guess it's because you're famous."

Harry laughed with his godfather some more. Harry was really beginning to feel part of a family. He saw his godfather--and only link to his parents--on a regular basis, he was living with his best friend's and girlfriend's family, and they all seemed to care greatly for him. He had even nearly forgotten all about Voldemort during all the excitement of the day.

As Harry hugged his godfather for helping him feel better about his scar a little, the kitchen table, which they were standing next to, burst into flames. Sirius spun around and put it out before it did any damage. "Harry, I'm sure Dumbledore will talk to you about this magic of yours as well." They walked back into the room where the Weasley's were all talking about quidditch, and Ron was boating about the Chudley Canon's team this year..

As the night wore on, Sirius left and the rest of the Weasley's went to bed leaving Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Harry suspected Ron did not plan on leaving them alone for the evening because Ron did not leave until Ginny had said her goodnights. She leaned down and kissed Harry as Ron grimaced as if in pain. Ron then left, and Harry laid on the couch thinking about how much his life had changed in the last couple weeks.

He had gone from being disliked because everyone thought he was an attention-seeking teenager, to trying to survive through the tasks, and then he witnessed Voldemort's return. There were no words to describe what that did to him…what it would do to anyone. Even more, he was now hated by many of the wizarding world because they thought he was making up a story to gain even more publicity.

Now, in the last two days, a family that cared for him had taken him in, and he could see his godfather almost every day. And, as a wonderful bonus, he had an amazing girlfriend. His life was turning for better amazingly after it had been crushed throughout the previous year. For a while, he may not even have to worry about Volde….

Harry's thoughts were interrupted as he saw the flames in the fireplace change colors, and a tall, thin figure stepped out. "Oh, Harry, I thought you'd still be up, if you would come with me please." Dumbledore motioned to the fireplace. "Dumbledore's office."

Harry stepped into the flames and said, "Dumbledore's office." A moment after swirling around, he found himself at the foot of the fireplace in his headmaster's office. _I need to work on my floo exits, _Harry thought.

Just as he was dusting himself off, the old, but amazingly active, man stepped out calmly. "Ok, Professor…what am I doing here?" Harry curiously asked. He had never been to Hogwarts during the summer, but it wasn't any different.

"Harry, we need to hurry, and I will tell you what I can on the way, but you are just going to have to trust me."

Harry thought for only a moment before saying, "Of course, sir, lead the way." Dumbledore looked pleased, but unsurprised at Harry's obedience and trust.

Dumbledore muttered his thanks and sped out of the office with Harry at his heels. Down the spiral staircase, Dumbledore looked at Harry still walking quickly. "I need you to come with me to the Chamber of Secrets. I would not ask you to do this, but we both know only two people can get in there."

Harry suddenly was excited; no fear came to him as his next adventure revealed itself. "Of course, Professor, I'm happy you need me."

Turning the corner Dumbledore smiled at Harry, "Well, Harry, you are a bigger part in this than I think you realize…you should see this. When we are done with this little escapade, I think we will have a short talk."

Harry was confused, but he felt extremely safe with this amazing wizard that he was getting to know better. Harry was amazed by the power that seemed to radiate off the old man.

They soon rounded another corner and went into the girls' bathroom. Harry had forgotten about Myrtle until he walked in to hear someone squeak. He turned around and found her head sticking out of the toilet. "Oh, hi Harry…have you come to talk to me?"

With a smile, but with urgency in his voice, Dumbledore said to Myrtle, "Not now Myrtle, we have important business to attend to."

Myrtle starting wailing and flushed herself down the toilet. The spun around and around with her screams echoing around the bathroom. At last she disappeared and Dumbledore motioned Harry over to the sink.

Harry felt he would be a bit rusty on his Parseltongue, but then remembered he didn't really know how to speak it anyway. He looked at the snake on the sink and pictured it moving and hissed, "_open_."

Dumbledore merely smiled when he heard the hissing, and watched as the sink dropped away, leaving a gaping hole. "See you in the sewers Harry." And with that, he jumped into the hole.

Harry waited a moment before following. He landed down at the bottom similar to when he came out of the floo. He stood and found Dumbledore looking around. "Well, Harry, you are the expert down here, so if you would lead me to the Chamber, it would be wonderful."

"Right," Harry said as they started off. They walked for a while and Dumbledore asked Harry to tell him the story once more as the walked. They soon came to where the small cave-in had happened. "And this is where Lockhart hit himself with his own spell. I'm sorry, but the small hole in the rock wall we made isn't quite big enough for you."

Dumbledore just waved his wand and rocks flew out of his way, leaving a nice walkway for them. "Great…well, Ron and Lockhart were stuck on that side so I kept…." Harry continued his narration. They came to the entrance and Harry said, "_Open_."

The doors to the Chamber opened, and Harry's mind flashed through that night. The dead Basilisk lay rotting at the end of the chamber. The stench reached their noses, but they didn't take notice. Dumbledore observed Harry's hesitance and asked, "If you'd rather not come we can turn back, Harry. There is no shame in..."

"No, I was just in a daze for a moment; I want to come with you Professor. So this is where I…" Harry froze once again, remembering his girlfriend lying there, appearing to be dead. He brought himself out telling himself she was alright. He continued, "…where I found Ginny unconscious." As he said Ginny's name, he pointed to the spot where he saw her. When he pointed the ground, it cracked and spread out like a spider web in a ten foot radius.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at Harry. He simply stated, "Then Tom came out." Harry nodded wondering what had just happened. Dumbledore walked into the middle of the chamber and closed his eyes. Harry thought he may be in a mediation of some sort so he didn't press the issue.

After several minutes Harry got impatient and said, "Professor, what happened to the ground."

"Later Harry, when I am done." He suddenly opened his eyes. "Did you say the snake came out of the statue's mouth?"

Harry told him yes and Dumbledore said, "Will you open the mouth for me?"

"Well, Professor, I'll try. Open!" Nothing happened. "Wait he said something, Slytherin, open your mouth! Hmm, oh I remember! _Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four_." It killed Harry to say this, and he wanted to apologize to Dumbledore, but he couldn't understand him anyway.

They watched as the mouth to Salazar Slytherin's mouth opened. For a moment, Harry feared another basilisk would come out. When nothing happened, Harry sighed in relief and watched Dumbledore carefully. His eyes were once again closed. He suddenly smiled, but when he opened his eyes, the twinkle was gone.

"Come now, Harry, let's go get a bit of Voldemort while he can't get us back." Dumbledore looked like only one thing mattered at the moment, and it was lying ahead. Harry didn't understand his statement, but trusted that all would be revealed in good time.

They climbed into the hole and Dumbledore lit his wand. "Wand out, Harry, I give you permission to use it if you need to." Harry whipped out his wand and walked silently with Dumbledore.

They came to a dead end, and the wall had no snakes on it, so Harry feared that this whole trip was for nothing. Then Dumbledore muttered several things under his breath while pointing his wand at the wall and frowned.

"Surely he would not be so crude. Of course he would." Dumbledore waved his wand and a knife appeared. "Tom Riddle must have set this here to make sure no one ever got behind this wall." Then without warning Dumbledore cut a slit across his palm and wiped the blood on the wall.

Harry was shocked to see Dumbledore hurt himself, but even more shocked when he saw the wall dissolve into nothing. Dumbledore turned to Harry and said, "Voldemort thinks that there is nothing worse than pain and death. Use this weakness to your advent…"

But he was cut off from Harry yelling "_Impedemetia._" Hundreds of snakes, some as thick as Harry, were slithering towards them.

Harry had slowed many of them, but for the most part, the only good his spell did was tell Dumbledore there was danger behind him. Dumbledore spun around very quickly, but also without fear.

The previous year Harry saw Dumbledore use a simple _Stupefy, _yet it was so strong that Harry could not believe it was the same spell he knew. Since then, he had felt the power radiating off of Dumbledore. Now, he saw another example of Dumbledore's power.

Using the exact same spell Harry had used, Dumbledore wordlessly cast the spell. Instantly, over half the snakes slowed to a stop. Dumbledore cast the second in the other direction so quickly it made Harry wonder if it was all actually one spell that spread out.

Harry gaped at his professor, who said to Harry, "Thank you so much Harry, by the looks of that Nosiop, it would have only been seconds before its poisonous bite would kill me. Excellent work on keeping on your toes. The real Professor Moody would've been proud. Now, shall we have a lesson quickly?" Dumbledore picked up a smaller snake and waved his wand, and Harry watched as it curled up and became a beautiful necklace. "Your turn."

Harry was shocked that the professor wanted him to do magic, but he gladly obliged. He waved his wand and muttered the transfiguring words at a snake. Harry's snake coiled around like Dumbledore's and turned into a necklace, but it was quite ugly, and it didn't latch in the back.

Dumbledore laughed, not at Harry, but with him. "Harry, let's try once more, and don't think about the words. Think instead on how it would look, let's say, on young Miss Weasley."

Harry blushed, and wondered if and how he knew they were going out. However he took his advice and thought hard on Ginny's picture and a necklace on her neck. As he went to pick up a snake to do the magic, it turned into a striking necklace before he even touched it.

Harry looked quickly up at Dumbledore whose twinkling eye reassured him that nothing was wrong. "Wonderful work Harry, and without a wand." Without further explanation, Dumbledore turned and cast a spell, and the snakes slid up against the walls, leaving them a path to walk on without the sound of snakes under their feet.

They continued down the long cavern, and it seemed to be getting brighter really quickly. Dumbledore took off his _lumos_ to allow Harry to see where the light was coming from. Harry squinted down the hallway as a bright red light came towards them. "_Protego_," Came out of both the headmaster's and student's mouths. The blue spell bounced off of their shields just as Harry saw a red beam of light coming at them.

"Traps for people? Like a turret that shoots spells?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"You are exactly right," Dumbledore said. "Now, why don't you do destroy it. I believe it will be a wand that has stored spells in it to activate if someone were to pass a certain point. Oh, and Harry, don't touch the wand, it may curse upon touching it."

Harry nodded and ran forward, blocking a few spells every so often. When he was blocking about every three seconds, he saw a wand, floating in mid-air. Harry cast, "_Expelliarmus_," and watched as the wand blocked his spell. He began a duel with an imaginary person.

After several moments of fighting with spells, Harry realized nothing was working. Nothing that he learned in his DADA classes anyway. Then Dumbledore's lesson came back; Dumbledore foresaw everything. Harry thought of the wand becoming a rubber chicken, and cast the spell.

The chicken-wand landed on the ground with a squeak. "Thank you for remembering our lesson so quickly, Harry." Dumbledore continued, "Defense is important, but so is seeing things on ways other than fighting. If I am not mistaken, that item was not a wand to begin with, but Tom made it appear that way to fool any who may enter here so that they would fight, rather than think of a way to solve the problem at hand."

Harry thought about this for a moment, then silently told himself that he should work harder in his other classes this next year to prepare himself for the rest of his life. They continued walking for a few more minutes, almost in silence. Harry tried to think things over during the stillness.

"Professor…why have his traps been so weak? Don't you think he would want to gueard whatever is here a little more?" Harry asked.

"You have an excellent question, but you are forgetting that Tom never thought anyone would get down here. I'm sure all of this is in case he ever brought someone down here, and they got away somehow. He never would've thought that someone could get here on their own." Dumbledore continued, "He thought he was the last Parslemouth to be alive, and probably the last one that would ever live."

Harry nodded. There were a lot of questions buzzing through his head now, but it would all be revealed in good time. Of that he was sure.

Suddenly, there was a very sharp drop off, and Harry watched in terror as Dumbledore fell down a steep pipe. Relief swept through him when he heard Dumbledore's voice, "Coming, Harry?" He jumped down into the hole. He couldn't help but laugh at Dumbledore's confidence and how he took everything in instantly.

When Harry touched down on the ground after sliding down the pipe, he stood up. When he looked up at the room he was in, he fell back down in bewilderment.


	4. The Chamber of Secrets' Secret

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine…and sadly, it never will be…

Chapter 4: The Chamber of Secrets' Secret

Harry gazed at the room around him. It was the most magnificent room he had ever seen, and he had lived in Hogwarts for four years. The room was as big as the Great Hall, and it had a warm feel to it. Harry never would've guessed he was hundreds of feet below the ground. Harry looked up and gasped when he saw the same type of enchanted ceiling. Harry now knew which of the founding four made that enchantment.

Harry still sat on the floor as he took in every inch of the gigantic room. He had completely forgotten Dumbledore was standing next to him as he looked around. Harry looked in the corner to find a library, about the same size as the Hogwarts library above him. It was lit brightly and looked like a wonderful place to read.

Harry looked some more, and found next to the library was the only area that didn't look like a beautiful room in a palace. The area had a translucent blue dome about 20 meters in diameter; inside was a dueling area with terrain to make it more interesting. Harry goggled at the dueling area wondering what the dome was. He thought it must be a protective shield to keep spells from harming the rest of the room.

Harry continued looking around the room to find a living area at the opposite end. There was a very large bed and a kitchen as well as a room which Harry assumed to be the restroom. Harry gasped as he saw, next to the couch and on the coffee table, a pensieve that looked similar to Dumbledore's but had a thinner base and larger bowl. Harry was amazed at the complete living room with a fireplace in the corner.

On the other side of the library was a small circle with a purple light covering the circumference of it. It looked like the dueling arena shrunk down. The light went up straight to the ceiling rather than being shaped like a dome.

There was a potions lab set up on the wall, with countless ingredients covering the shelves. A large cauldron was to the side where one could brew a good amount of potion. There was even a crystal ball on a table next to the potions lab. This room had it all.

When Dumbledore felt Harry had had enough time to take in his surroundings, he said, "It is a magnificent place Slytherin built. It is now clear how Tom Riddle got so far ahead of his classmates. Having powerful magic does not explain how advanced he was. He needed to have a place to practice, and based on this room…the young man had plenty of practice."

"What are all of these things…I assume that is a dueling arena, and obviously that is a library, and that is a potions lab. However, I can't think of what that smaller circle would be." Harry didn't know what to think of the place.

"That is a smaller 'arena' as you call it. You can practice spells that are too powerful to be in the dueling area. The protective charm around it allows magic in, but no magic out. Let's see how it works." Dumbledore pulled out his wand and conjured a block of gold in the circle. He then muttered a rather long incantation and his wand emitted a bright orange light that traveled in a double helix toward the metal. On contact, the entire meter wide block of gold melted down to a puddle. The spell continued on past the gold and hit the faint purple light and stopped.

"As you can see, my spell had no problems with the gold, but could not even bend the shield around the circle."

"Professor, did you know this was here the whole time?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore sighed and looked up at Harry. He told him to come to the living area. They sat on the couch, and Harry waited for Dumbledore to start. "Harry, I need you to trust me for just a little bit longer. It is late…it may even be early in the morning now. I would like you to go back to the Burrow until I can think about this new finding. I will, however, tell you that I did not expect this to be here. I'm sure you will find out soon enough what I thought it would be."

Harry sighed. He knew his headmaster knew what was best for him even if he didn't think it was. He was sure Dumbledore would tell him everything in good time. "Ok, sir. How do I get back?"

Dumbledore smiled with the twinkle ever present as he said, "That is some great news for us Harry. As the Ministry has no history of there being a fireplace here, we can secretly floo without them knowing."

Harry grinned at his headmaster's breaking of the rules. It was nice to know he did it just like Harry. Dumbledore said, "Just one moment." He walked over to the fireplace and muttered several words waving his wand.

He stood up and said, "It appears to be safe, and I now know what we need to say to floo in here. I will keep that secret for now." He finished looking truly sorry that he had to keep secrets. Harry could feel his sincerity radiate off of the wise man, and so he let it go with a shrug.

"You are an amazing wizard and young man Harry. Because of this, you will be trusted much quicker than others." Dumbledore looked proudly at Harry like a grandfather would to his grandson, which made Harry feel great inside. He now had one more person he was close to and could maybe even love.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Harry watched in horror as the pensieve shook off of the table and fell. Harry knew that pensieves must be extremely rare because he had only seen one, and it belonged to Dumbledore himself. Harry cried out in his mind for it not to fall and it stopped in midair. Harry looked over at Dumbledore expecting his wand to be out and be floating the pensieve back to the table. Instead, he saw Dumbledore's eyes twinkling madly at Harry. "We must work on that wandless magic of yours Harry. It could cause some serious damage. Although, that was some quick thinking by stopping the fall. You know there are few pensieves in the whole world; it would be a pity to lose one to a simple fall."

Harry looked at him questioningly. _How could I have levitated that? I didn't even say an incantation._ He then said to Dumbledore, "I know, I know, all in good time." Dumbledore once again beamed at the student.

"Let's hurry and get you back to the Burrow before Molly throws a fit. It may be to late. Just say the Burrow Harry, you don't even need floo powder for this fire."

Harry grinned and took one last look at the amazing room he would hope to see again. Before he yelled out the Burrow, Dumbledore told him to expect him shortly.

Harry fell out of the Burrow's fireplace a little more gracefully. He was met by a shriek, and he was picked up and hugged very tightly by Mrs. Weasley. "Oh I was so frightened, are you ok, dear?"

Harry had to stifle a laugh at Dumbledore's prediction. "I'm fine Mrs. Weasley…I was just out…" Harry stopped, wondering if he was supposed to tell her what was going on. "…Well," Harry smiled, "all will be told in good time, Mrs. Weasley."

She frowned at Harry, but a calm swept over her as Harry spoke, and she let it drop saying she was glad he was ok. Harry didn't feel tired at all for some reason, so he went outside for a run. Harry ran for a good while before doing some pushups and sit-ups. He was determined to be in good fighting shape for whatever was going to happen.

After going to a pond and jumping in, he saw a broom flying his way. He felt his stomach flip when he saw Ginny come down and get off. "Morning, Harry! You get up too early for me."

"Actually I never went to sleep." Harry laughed at her expression. "Come join me, its nice and cool this morning."

"I didn't bring my swimming suit, and I don't think skinny dipping is appropriate." She said this with a grin.

Harry laughed at this. He really liked Ginny, she was perfect. He pointed at her clothes to tell her she could jump in with those on, and when he did, her clothes turned into a modest swimming suit.

Harry was shocked at both his magic as well as how good Ginny looked. "Harry!" Ginny yelled. "Close your mouth, and don't ever change my clothes again!"

"I'm…sorry, Gin. I had no idea I was going to do that. But hey, at least you don't have an excuse not to join me now!" Harry recovered quickly. He then sent a splash that was magically enhanced somehow and got Ginny drenched.

"You're dead now Potter!" Ginny jumped in splashing Harry as much as possible. They continued getting closer as the splashed and met in a kiss. Once again, Ron showed up before anything got serious. He cannon balled into the pond splashing both of them.

"Hermione just wrote…she said she was already coming this week." Ron could not keep some excitement out of his voice. Harry knew Ron had a liking in that way for Hermione; he was just too dense to see it, probably like Harry was too dense to notice Ginny before now.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and stifled laughter. "Well, Ron, that is great news. As long as you two don't keep fighting, I can't wait for her to get here."

Ginny was excited for her friend to get there so they could talk. Hermione was her only close female friend. She couldn't help but wonder whether Ron would get up the nerve to ask her out.

They swam for a bit longer before deciding to go back in. Ginny suit turned back to normal as soon as she got out, and Ron wondered what was going on. They just shrugged it off and went in to have some breakfast.

As they approached the Burrow, they heard voices coming from inside. "…is too young. It's not fair on him. I don't understand why he has to go."

Harry heard Sirius' voice next, "I don't like it any more than you do, Molly, but you need to trust us. Harry needs to come with us for a while."

Dumbledore's voice then came out, "All will be revealed in good time, Molly."

"That's exactly what Harry said this morning. I don't understand, but I trust you all, and Harry made me feel calm." Mrs. Weasley was calming down.

"Did he now?" Harry could almost hear the twinkling of Dumbledore's eyes in his voice. "Now, we need to stop this conversation, because we have been eavesdropped on for some time."

The door opened and Mrs. Weasley had tears in her eyes and grabbed Harry in another hug. Harry didn't know what to think. _Am I going to my deathbed or something? Mrs. Weasley is probably just overreacting_, Harry thought.

Harry looked up at his godfather and headmaster. They were smiling, and Dumbledore had that twinkle that made Harry relax knowing everything would be ok. Dumbledore spoke, "Ok Harry, the time for you to learn has come. If you would say goodbye to your friends, we will be leaving for a while."

Harry didn't understand. He loved the past few days at the Burrow, and he didn't want to leave, but he knew he had to go. Ginny spoke up, "Where are you going? How long will you be gone? Harry, what's going on?"

"It's alright, Gin. I just need to leave for a while. I'm sure I'll be back soon enough." He hugged her, and she relaxed in his arms. He turned to Ron, "I'll see you later. Tell Hermione hi for mi if I'm not back."

Ron was confused and worried for his friend. After all, for Dumbledore to come and pick Harry up personally, there must be something going on. However, he relaxed with Harry's confidence that everything was ok. "Ok, mate. I'll see you later then."

Harry kissed Ginny goodbye, hugged Mrs. Weasley, and turned to the older men. Dumbledore spoke, "Now, if you could all go upstairs, so we can be on our way, without you following us."

They went upstairs looking confused. Dumbledore turned to Harry, "Ok Harry, we will be returning to the Chamber of Secrets. In the floo, say 'IT COST 8.30.' I figure it to be short for In The Chamber Of Secrets, Time-8:30. If it were 10:00, we would say 'IT COST 10.00.' So, you go first."

Harry stepped into the fire after throwing the floo powder in, looked at his watch, and said, "IT COST 8.32."

Harry spun around and appeared in the spacious room once more. He stepped out and was joined by Sirius, and then Dumbledore. Sirius stared at the room, "Wow! This is an auror's paradise."

"Let's move over to the pensieve please." Dumbledore said, "I need you two to see something."

They walked over and sat down on the couch. Dumbledore put his wand to his head and drew out something silvery. He held it over the bowl, and it fell in, swishing around. "Harry, I think you are ready to hear this. And though I hate to show this to you, you have a right to see it. Remember in your third year before Wormtail escaped, Professor Trelawney made a prediction? I told you it was her second real prophecy. Her first was also about Voldemort, but it was also about you."

"So there is a prophecy about me as well as Voldemort?"

"Sadly, yes. I will show it to you now." He waved his wand over the bowl, and Harry watched as his divination teacher appeared in the pensieve. She looked younger, but had the exact same features as when she made the prophecy Harry had seen.

Her voice was unlike that of her dreamy, foggy nature. She spoke the words, _"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal…and he shall possess a power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die for the other to live…"_

Harry sat stunned. Not all of the prophecy made sense, but he got the gist of it. His whole world changed. He was no longer a large part in this new war about to take place…he was the guy to end the war, or to lose and send the entire world at Voldemort's feet.

Harry hadn't realized Sirius was gripping his arm until he lost circulation to his arm. "Sirius, you can let go now."

Sirius looked down at his hand, "Sorry, Harry." He paused for a while, "Are you ok, Harry?"

"No, I'm not ok. That prophesy means I can't have a life unless I kill him. I can't live while he survives." Harry decided he didn't want to take divination again.

"No Harry…I'm afraid you think this prophesy has decided your destiny. In reality, it has just given you confidence. Can you honestly tell me you didn't plan on fighting him again…maybe even finishing him for good?" His twinkle came back as Harry shook his head to tell him no. "Then, Harry, this prophecy just told you that you have the power to vanquish him, to rid this world of his evil."

"So this prophecy is merely stating what would've come to pass, whether the prophecy was made or not?" Harry asked.

"Yes, you have a choice to run away and not fulfill this prophecy, but the fact is: you won't. You have a choice, but we all know what your choice will be," Dumbledore said.

"Does Voldemort know about the prophecy?" Sirius asked.

"It is ironic really…Voldemort heard only the first half of the prophecy. He knew the one having the power to kill him would come in July, to those who had thrice defied him. The Potter boy and the Longbottom boy. He went up to you first, Harry, and marked you as his equal."

It could've been Neville. Harry thought, _why couldn't it be Neville? _He scolded himself for wishing his life on someone else. He couldn't do that.

Dumbledore looked at Harry, and Harry felt as though he were looking through his eyes. "Now, Harry, your powers are emerging. You may be wondering why I took you from the Burrow…I was debating whether to or not, but your powers are growing at an unsteady level. I fear you could harm someone without proper training for a while."

"I'll do whatever I need to, sir," Harry said. "If I need to face Voldemort…I want to be ready."

With the twinkle strong once more, Dumbledore said, "Great! We will use Tom's own training facility and you will live here until you feel you can control your powers."

"Will Sirius be staying here?"

Sirius answered, "I'll be dropping in quite often, but I won't live here much."

Dumbledore began, "Harry, I would like to come every morning and help you control that wandless magic of yours. It seems the biggest problem. After I leave, you will study, and study hard. You may not like potions…but I fear potions have an incredible power behind them. You must be able to brew and to identify potions and most importantly, be able to identify when one is being used so you can counter it or fight accordingly.

"You must work on divination to see if you possess any inner eye…I do not like it, but it can be useful. You will study transfiguration, charms, and defense like your life depends on it, because your life _does_ depend on it. You have a long few weeks ahead of you Harry…but I think you will love every minute of it. Sirius will come in the evenings, sometimes stay the night, but he will duel with you…and if I am not mistaken, he will teach you how to become and animagus. I allow you to do this, but I must warn you to be careful…it is dangerous and could go completely wrong.

"Lastly, you are one of the most incredible wizards I have ever seen. I have faith that you will grow and become stronger than the evil around us. You are a true Gryffindor and the bravest person I have ever met. In addition to magically growing, you are coming into the age where your body will grow stronger and you will need to train yourself in that area as well. I have looked over the library and found nothing you shouldn't know."

Harry was confused at his emotion…he was excited. He was not sad that he couldn't be with Ginny, though he would miss her. He wasn't angry that he had to work over the summer. He wasn't distraught over the prophecy. If anything he was relieved he could actually fight back against Voldemort. He was excited to be an animagus and learn incredible amounts of knowledge in just a short time.

"Professor, I am excited to do this, but Slytherin made this place…don't you think it has dark magic all around?"

"Harry, I wondered the same thing as I read through the books here. They are not dark magic, I believe Slytherin was just a man who thought he was better because of his lineage, and he thought others were not worthy. Not all people who discriminate are evil, just mislead and maybe have bad intentions. Voldemort is one who is evil. Slytherin was one who was blinded."

Harry thought about this. It was true, but he had always thought of Slytherin as an evil man. _I guess people aren't always what you expect_, Harry thought.

"Now Harry, I expect you to use the rest of this day to familiarize yourself with this room. You didn't get any sleep last night, so I want you to rest up, because we will start early in the morning. This ceiling is in perfect time with the day, so you will be able to tell what time it is by the sun and stars."

Dumbledore went to the fireplace and vanished to his office. Harry turned to Sirius and grinned. Sirius was relieved, he was worried Harry had just been putting on a brave face for Dumbledore, but he knew Harry was happy at the moment.

"Excited, huh? Just wait until you can transform with me. I wonder what animal you will be." Sirius wondered if he would also be a stag like his father.

"How does it all work? I thought I got to choose the animal I wanted to be…" Harry didn't know very much about animagi.

"Well, we aren't supposed to start training until tomorrow, so I will just tell you that the animal you turn into is inside of you already. Being an animagus is different from transfiguring yourself into an animal. You take over the instincts and abilities of the animal when you are an animagus."

"So how do I find my animal?" Harry was eager to find out.

"All in good time, my boy." Sirius was amazed at the similarities between James and his godson. He beamed down at Harry missing James and Lily. He looked over at the pensieve and told Harry to go look in again.

Dumbledore had already taken his memory back, and Sirius pulled out the silver out of his head and put it in the bowl. "Go ahead and jump in this time, Harry. Don't just watch from out here."

Harry pushed his face into the bowl and swirled around until he was sitting next to a much younger Sirius Black. The older Sirius never joined him, so Harry decided to look around. He saw his father and the traitorous Peter Pettigrew standing with his godfather..

They were all in a trance, then instantly they all broke out of it. "Wow!" Harry's father said, "That was amazing."

Peter looked a little disappointed and said, "I'm a rat."

Sirius said, "Well of course you are Pete! I'm a phoenix." Peter gasped and looked at Sirius with big eyes.

James rolled his eyes, "And I'm a dragon…come on Peter…you can't seriously believe him! We all know it's never been done before." Peter coughed and pretended like he knew it was a joke the whole time. "I'm a stag…I was quite beautiful if I do say so myself."

"You do say so yourself, James," Sirius joked. "I'm a rather large black dog. Someone could mistake me for the Grim actually. Remus should have fun with me right? Wolf on dog!"

"So what do we do now?" Peter asked.

"Well, Wormtail…how do you like my nickname for him, Sirius? I suppose we will now try to actually become our animal. I have no idea how to do that. I guess we should go to the restricted section tonight."

Harry swirled out again and landed next to Sirius. "Wow! That was great. So how long did it take you to figure out how to transform? How did you know what to transform into?"

Sirius laughed, "All in good…ah you know. For now, I must leave you to enjoy the next 15 hours. Dumbledore starts early." With that, he walked to the fireplace and shouted, "The Burrow." He was probably going to give a vague description of what was going on to the Weasley's. They had a right to know some of it at least.

Harry looked at his new home for a while. He might get claustrophobic after a while in this one room. He looked around the rest of the room. He observed the potions lab more closely. He saw that the shelves had ingredients he had only heard of, and everything was labeled perfectly. He looked at the crystal ball and saw how nice it was. He didn't feel much like looking into it yet, so he continued around.

The carpeted ground was very comfortable and it went well with the paint on the walls. Harry saw several amazing painting and thought of the painting to the kitchens and decided he would have to find some secret passages.

He walked to the dueling dome and walked in. The area reminded him of his first task against the dragon the previous year. It was not like the dueling club in his second year, but more how he imagined a real duel would be…similar to the one a few weeks ago…

Harry shook his head and left the dome. He walked along the wall and found a snake carved into the wall. "_Open," _he hissed. Immediately the whole wall, which was the only wall without things up against it, shifted back and slid down until it disappeared underground.

"Wow…"

Harry looked past where the wall had been and saw where the basilisk had lived for hundreds of years. The room was covered in wonderful items of great worth. Galleons littered the room, but the room was accentuated by beautiful diamonds, amethysts, emeralds, rubies, and every other thing one could think of. The light reflected off of all the jewels and the beauty was astonishing.

Harry saw an outline of where the basilisk traveled through the gorgeous room. Harry had just uncovered more money than was in the Malfoy inheritance. If Harry kept this to himself, he would be one of the richest people in the world. _Slytherin must have been a king to have all of this,_ Harry thought.

Harry took a closer look at the room and saw there were more than just gems in the room. Harry walked deeper into the room to find a deep hole where the basilisk must have slithered through to go throughout the school. Harry was sure there were other ways to get here from the castle. Maybe he would use the Marauder's Map and find a close pipe to get to from Gryffindor tower.

He continued through the space to find a large closet. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the imposter Mad-Eye Moody's office. There were dozens of little trinkets as well as some larger one's. Harry recognized a foe glass and a sneakoscope. He glanced around the spacious closet and found a box in the corner.

Harry opened the box and found four paintings. He lifted the first out and gasped when he saw a painting of Godric Gryffindor. The painting smiled at him before speaking, "Ah, someone at last…we haven't seen anyone here in a good fifty years. Slytherin got to get out of this old box, but the boy kept the rest of us in here."

Harry leaned him against the wall and pulled out the three other founders. Slytherin spoke next, "How did you get here?"

Harry smiled before answering, "I found it and killed your basilisk…It hurt one of my friends you see. I couldn't have that happen again."

Gryffindor spoke again, "Ah, you must be in Gryffindor then!"

Harry nodded at him. "Where would you guys like to be hung?"

Slytherin said he would rather stay in his chamber, but the other three wanted to go to the headmaster's office. Harry told them he would talk to the headmaster the next day. "Hey Slytherin, you wouldn't mind telling me about this wonderful training room would you?"

Slytherin blushed at the first compliment he had received in hundreds of years before answering, "I built it to train my heir…he wasn't exactly what I had hoped for. He seemed a bit too extreme. He was on about ruling the world. I just wanted some dirty mudbloods out of this wonderful school. Seeing as how you are here, feel free to use it, and you will be surprised at how many secrets there are within this Chamber of Secrets."

With that, they all dosed off to sleep. Harry moved them out into the main room, and as he crossed where the wall had been, it popped back up into place. Harry decided he would show Dumbledore the treasures of the room the first thing in the morning.

Harry was getting very tired, so he went to bed. He fell asleep very quickly with thoughts of how the next couple weeks would play out.


	5. The Order and the Phoenix

A/N: Thanks to everyone that has reviewed. It is always nice to get compliments…and constructive criticism for that matter. Anyway, I know this story has seemed to drag on…I mean, 5 chapters in a few day time span. However, I have enjoyed writing like this. I do plan on picking up the pace soon just so you know. Here is chapter 5…enjoy!

Chapter 5: The Order and the Phoenix

Harry awoke early. The sun was just barely appearing over the mountains, casting a red light throughout the sky with a little purple and orange thrown in. He got up and walked to the bathroom. Harry opened the door for the first time and stepped in.

When Harry went into the prefects' bathroom the previous year, he thought it was the most amazing bathroom ever. Little did he know, that hundreds of meters below him, was a bathroom that outdid it magnificently. This bathroom had it all. The bath was the size of a swimming pool, which he was sure he would do laps in, the shower had several heads, and the toilet was even decorated like he had never seen. The room as a whole looked spectacular as it was decorated magnificently.

Harry started up the bath, which filled in seconds (_I love magic)_. He got in and relaxed before doing some laps and after 20 minutes, he got out and left the bathroom.

Harry went over to test out the kitchen area. He wondered if the house elves got food down here somehow without realizing it. Harry sat at the dining table and instantly food appeared. While eating some bacon and eggs, Dumbledore stepped out of the fire.

"May I join you, Harry?"

Harry laughed, "Of course. This food is excellent; do you think the house elves make it?"

"I'm sure Salazar Slytherin had a few tricks up his sleeve. I bet he has enough food to come in here to last a hundred years."

"Speaking of Salazar Slytherin, I have to show you something." Harry got up and moved over to where he placed the four portraits. He spun them around to face Dumbledore. Harry was amazed at the look that flashed across the aged man's face. A look of astonishment passed through his features before he hid them quickly.

"Harry, this has to be the most wondrous thing to happen to Hogwarts in my rule of the school. The school will be honored to bring the founders back. You have brought back important paintings. If only they could talk."

Gryffindor spoke up, "Ah, my dear man. We can talk, and we have some good things to talk about after all this time. I'm sure many things have been lost over the years."

Dumbledore once again had the surprise pass through his face. "Yes, I would love to know about that bathroom that I found last year in the middle of the night. You must tell me when it appears, I very much enjoyed it." Harry thought Dumbledore was the strangest, yet most amazing person he had ever met.

Harry showed Dumbledore the wall that disappeared to reveal the wealthy vault. No surprise passed through Dumbledore's feature, but the twinkle was back. "Well, I don't think we have to worry about running out of money."

Harry quickly showed him the closet and Dumbledore moved all the detectors and trinkets out into the main room. They walked back and the wall closed behind them. "Well, I have had enough surprises for today…how about I give you a few?" Dumbledore said.

Harry agreed and they sat back in the living area on opposite sides of the table with the pensieve on it. "Ok, Harry. You have been showing some extremely rare abilities in just a few short weeks. First, you conquered the Priori Incantatem again Voldemort. Secondly, you have shown the early stages of wandless magic. Next, you showed the power of presence. Lastly, you have the power of being the only person in this world to utterly shock me.

Let's start with your graveyard experience. You mentioned you had a nightmare…which is completely normal. It is amazing only one nightmare has occurred. I would hate to bring up old memories, but whenever you are ready to talk in more detail than at the end of last term, that would be great."

Harry was about to comment when Dumbledore silenced him. "You are not ready yet Harry. I know how quickly you have managed to feel better about it …with the help of your family, you have been able to delude the memory. That does not mean you are over what happened, I don't think you will ever be over it, but you will overcome it.

"Let's move on to this power of presence. You have a calming power about you, Harry. You seem to already have the ability to give off that calming power and allow others around you to feel safe with you. It is a rare gift."

Harry thought about this. Mrs. Weasley certainly did stop fussing over him quickly. And Ginny and Ron were perfectly fine with him leaving without explanation. He was sure trust played a large role in this power. Even Sirius lightened up because Harry showed confidence.

"Now, about this power to shock me…I want you to stay humble, Harry, but I have a feeling that I need to express. You have amazed me from day one. Surviving the curse that has killed so many is amazing. Even with your mother's protection, it takes an incredible wizard to survive what you did. Think about it, don't you think somewhere in the world a mother has died for her child and the child was killed afterwards anyway?"

This had passed through Harry's mind before. It seemed odd that he was the only one to ever have the protection of love. So he played a part in the protection as well.

"So, after that, I left you on the doorstep of abusive people. I had more faith in them than I should have. However, I also had less faith in you than I should have. I never expected you to be such a strong person, Harry.

"Your first year was evidence of that. You defeated Voldemort again. You showed great courage. One year later, under skeptical eyes, you managed to save this school and your future girlfriend. Again, you took down Voldemort. One year later, you cleared one of the greatest men on the planet's name, if only to a few people. And this year…this year you got past a tournament designed for people three years older than you and survived yet another time. Once again, you had no choice but to face pure evil, and you fought magnificently. You foiled his ultimate plan and as a result we can safely live here at Hogwarts.

"As I said before, I do not wish to make you over confident, but you must realize you are strong. You must realize that anyone else who heard that prophecy, if it was made about them, would break down and lose it. You are one of the bravest men I have had the honor of meeting. You have entirely dazed me with your performances.

"You will now be learning under me for a while. I expect great things from you, as should you. We will now move on to the ability you have gotten so far that I have not addressed. Wandless magic, Harry, is a wonderful gift. It can be very dangerous, but extremely helpful. That is why it is important for you to learn more.

"If I am not mistaken, you first realized this power around Miss Weasley." With Harry's nod, the headmaster continued. "You have since then done it again around her as well as Sirius and, I am happy to say, myself. You see, when a wizard does accidental magic, he is releasing stored up excess magic in a time of weakness, much like when you allowed your anger to overcome you and released your magic at your poor aunt.

What you have been doing now, is using moments of strength to funnel not stored up magic, but magic that you would use with a wand. Wands merely focus and amplify magic. Your magic level is so high, Harry, that your wand does little to amplify, it only focuses. So at times when you are feeling love you manage to focus your magic and use it."

Harry thought about all of this new information. He had more magic than most people…so much more that a wand didn't really help him. If he could learn to focus without his wand he could do magic without words. Most wizards could do magic without words, but it took a lot more concentration. Wizards only used words to trigger their wands, so if he didn't have a wand he could shoot spells very quickly and without telling his attacker what to expect.

Once Dumbledore noticed Harry had come to a wonderful conclusion, he spoke again, "I did not experience wandless magic until I was in my twenties, Harry. I believe you can have great success with this due to your experience with the Patronus. It is different, obviously, but it has similarities.

"You remember you have done wandless magic when you are feeling love. That is how you funnel your energy. Voldemort uses dark methods, the dark arts are powerful, but love will always overcome.

"Now, if you remember, you did wandless magic just by thinking of Ginny in the tunnel. I believe she is the strongest force for you to focus your energy at the moment. So, I want you to conjure up a bowl of lemon drops, but you must think of her while doing it."

Harry was slightly uncomfortable talking with the professor about Ginny, but he figured Dumbledore knew what he was doing. So he thought hard about what he wanted to achieve, but even harder on an image of Ginny flying with him.

"Harry, your magic needs to escape somehow, so use your hand to give an outlet."

Harry brought his hand up and instantly a bowl of lemon drops appeared. Harry grinned at Dumbledore, who returned the gesture while popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"Ok, Harry. You have done extremely well. I have taken much of our time today just explaining everything to you. I must attend to other matters, such as finding a new Defense teacher; it seems Professor Moody will not be rejoining us, not that he was ever really with us. He has a slightly different job right now." Dumbledore paused looking at Harry with the twinkle ever present.

"I wish to tell you more, but I will wait until Sirius arrives. He will want to talk to you about this." Dumbledore stood leaving Harry in thought about his new powers.

"Thank you, Professor; I will see you tonight then." Harry asked Dumbledore before he reached the fire, "Would you like me to study anything specific?"

"I would like you to study everything, Harry. Know this library before it is time to leave. Make Miss Granger proud. Also, feel free to practice your wandless magic, the quicker you master that, the sooner I will be able to teach you more powerful magic."

Dumbledore disappeared in the flames with the four paintings and left Harry on the couch. Harry immediately got up and walked over to the library. He decided to start with his least favorite subject: Potions.

Three hours later, Harry was at the lab hovering over a boiling cauldron. He found he liked potions without Snape looming over him to make him feel inadequate. He was not doing a hard potion, but he found following the directions relatively easy, and he even added his own variations when he felt they were needed. The cupboards full of ingredients were amazing. They refilled themselves as he used them, and Harry noticed they were fresh, which meant there was a charm placed on them. He guessed Slytherin made the charm to refill the vials from the Forbidden Forest.

Harry finished his potion and looked in the book to find his potion looked exactly like the picture of it in the book. He cleaned up and went back to the library and started reading some Transfiguration books. He performed relatively difficult spells easily, and he even used wandless magic on simpler spells.

As the day went by Harry practiced and learned as much as he could, and he was surprised to find that his memory was excellent. He could remember incantations and wand movements without a second glance at the instructions in the books. Harry found that when he did wandless magic, he didn't need to do the movements that he would with a wand…yet another upside to wandless magic. He just had to think the movements in addition to the spell and love.

Harry knew he had to master wandless magic because when crunch time came, he wouldn't have time to focus on those three things. He would have to be able to do it second nature so he could also focus on the evil he would be facing.

The afternoon passed quickly, and Harry was expecting Sirius to show up soon. Just as he was putting away The Right to Bear Charms by Helga Hufflepuff, he heard the flames spit someone out. As he turned to see Sirius, Dumbledore came through once more after him.

"Ah, Harry, working hard I see. I am only going to be here for a moment. You see, I have some more things to tell you." The two adults beckoned Harry over to them. "You see, many years ago, before Voldemort disappeared, I was the leader of a group of people to take him down. The ministry was not much help then, just like now, so we took matters into our own hands.

"Only the most trusted of my friends were members of this group. It was called the Order of the Phoenix. Your parents, Sirius, and many others you may know were members. The Order was very successful and we brought down more Death Eaters than all of the aurors in the ministry."

Harry was excited every time he heard something of his parents' past. He wondered out loud, "So you've started it back up, the Order of the Phoenix? Is that 'the old crowd' you told Sirius to round up that night Voldemort got back?"

"You have a good memory, Harry. Yes, I sent Sirius, which frightened quite a few of the old members to see him. He is still a convict to them, see? But we got it straightened out, and now we have, indeed, restarted the Order."

"So how many members are there? Is it as big as last time? What is the Ministry up to?"

"Well, there are about thirty members so far. The Weasley's are a great addition to the Order. Many of those that were in it fifteen years ago passed away. The Longbottom's, as you know, are unable to help. We have a few more recruits, you will meet them eventually. Tonks, Kingsley, Fletcher, and a few others, I won't name them all. You will see Lupin soon though, he is a member. The Ministry is being more uncooperative than ever. Fudge has taken me off the Wizengammot. Said I was losing my touch…"

"It won't be too long before everyone realizes what is really happening I hope." Sirius looked like he wanted to murder the Ministry…although, Harry decided he would, too if they convicted him of murder and sent him off to Azkaban without trial.

Dumbledore managed to hold the twinkle in his eye as he spoke, "Harry, you have gotten quite a different status in the world now, just remember that it doesn't matter what they say. Always do what you think is right; we all have faith in you. I must now attend to some matters." And with that, he stepped back into the fire and disappeared.

Harry looked happily up at Sirius when he said, "Let's go find out what you will turn into, Harry."

Sirius led them over to the library as Harry asked, "How does it work, Sirius? In the pensieve you all looked like you were in a trance…is it a spell you cast?"

"Nope…it's actually a very difficult potion, and it has to be here in the library." They started looking through the potions books. Harry found several books that might have it, but after looking, it wasn't there. He enjoyed skimming through different potion though.

At last, after an hour of searching, Sirius found it in a book written by Godric Gryffindor. They looked at it together, and Sirius spoke, "I don't remember it being this difficult because it will take several weeks to find the correct ingredients, the actual brewing of the potion could be done in a day."

"That's good news, because there is a stock of every ingredient possible in the cupboards. They refill themselves, too. So, can we start now so tomorrow I will find out what I will turn into?"

Sirius smiled, "Of course, you are an anxious one, aren't you? Yes we will start now, and you will make the potion yourself for practice…besides, I never was any good at potions. Your mother on the other hand, she could brew anything."

"Cool, let's start it up then." They walked over to the lab and got ready. Sirius was right…it was a complex potion. It couldn't be more difficult than the Polyjuice Potion, though. Harry got started and put an automatic mixing charm on it that would mix it at the exact speed he set it to. "That should do for a couple hours until we need to add…unicorn droppings?"

"Ah yes, that took some time for James and me to find." Sirius laughed out loud remembering their adventure into the forest about twenty years earlier.

"Well, its all set for the next couple of hours; what do we do until then?"

Sirius was excited as he said, "Dumbledore has asked me to teach you to duel properly. We will fight each other until you can beat me."

"Cool. How is your new wand treating you? Still think you can beat me with a different wand?"

Sirius was sad for a moment, "Yes, well, my first wand…nothing can beat one's first wand, unless that wand did not pick the wizard. Ron's second wand is better because the first one was a hand-me-sown from his dead grandpa. My first wand was magic…. Of course I can still take you. I'm your godfather after all."

They walked into the dueling dome and Sirius said, "Let's just have a disarming duel. It is excellent for quickening your reactions. Later tonight, we may start using other spells. So just use _protego _and _expelliarmus_."

They took positions in the dome and Sirius yelled, "Go!" Harry sent the disarming curse right away and quickly put up his shield as Sirius' came at him. They continued like this, continually getting faster until Harry couldn't go much faster and he jumped behind a rock that was jutting out.

"Come get me, Harry!" Sirius joked. He wasn't having trouble with the speed of the match. Harry spun around the rock just as he had around the tombstone when he faced Voldemort. An unknown power came through him as he remembered that moment and his _expelliarmus _shot right through Sirius' shield knocking him over and sending his wand to Harry.

"Wow…you got some power in that one! That was amazing…right through my shield." Sirius panted as he got up. "Where did that come from?"

"I just remembered a moment in my fight with Voldemort then I felt power surging through me. I just let it all out in that spell."

Sirius laughed, "Your memory of that moment _strengthened_ you? You really are an amazing wizard Harry. However, no matter how strong your spells are, being quick is just as important. So lets go again, and no hiding this time. That will be ok in later duels, but for now we need to focus on improving your cast rate."

Harry agreed and they went at it once more. Soon, they were up to high speeds again and Harry alternated dodging and blocking spells so he could send some of his own. Sirius found a pattern to Harry's dodges and had him disarmed a second later.

"You need to break habits, so your opponent cannot find a weakness. That was wonderful, though, Harry. It is important to be able to dodge as your quidditch skills allow you to do. That way you can dish out some spells while you don't need to focus on shielding. Be careful, though, about wide spells; they can't be dodged.

"Let's go ahead and move onto all spells that won't hurt us significantly." They began again using all types of spells. Several times Sirius got the better end because he knew spells that could be blocked easily, just not by _protego,_ but because Harry had never seen them before, he didn't know how to block them.

"This is why your studies are important…you can't learn everything hands-on." As Sirius finished his lesson of that fight, Harry's wand gave a ringing sound. It was the timer charm he had set on it to tell him when to add the next ingredient to the potion. "Well, let's go take care of that, and then I will leave you for the night."

They added the ingredients, and Sirius told him to make sure he did it perfectly, so they could use it the next day. With that, Sirius left Harry to take care of the potion. Over the next few hours, Harry tended to the potion, studied blocking spells, practiced wandless magic, and ran around the room to improve his endurance.

Harry ate a late dinner, got ready for bed and fell asleep. _Harry ran down a silent hallway. He turned to see a door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He heard someone scream inside. Then there was a man's voice, high pitched and cold. "You have failed me again, Wormtail. You are worthless. Crucio!"_

Harry woke with a start as his wand rang again. What was that? Did he have a dream like he had the previous year? Did that actually happen? It felt so real. What did Wormtail fail to do? Harry walked over to the cauldron and added ingredients and changed the speed of stirring. He had memorized the potion, even in its complexity.

Harry walked back to his bed, but he decided to start his day to take his mind off his dream. He wouldn't be able to get to bed anyway. He went to the bathroom and swam laps for an hour. He was a little sore from dueling the day before, and swimming loosened him up.

Harry got dressed and ate breakfast. He had time to study before Dumbledore got there. He had been going down the shelves when he came across a book called ­Apparation. Harry knew next to nothing on how to apparate, so he opened up the book. He was surprised to find it so thin. He skimmed the history of apparation quickly and got to the three D's: destination, determination, and deliberation.

This was it? It seemed relatively easy, so he held out his wand and he determinedly deliberated on his destination. He felt an odd compression like he was being forced through a tube, and in a moments panic he worried he had done it wrong. No sooner than it started, it stopped and Harry opened his eyes to find himself on the opposite end of the room.

"Excellent work, Harry." It was Dumbledore's voice. "Apparently the anti-apparation charms do not extend down here."

Harry suddenly felt sick to his stomach. "Professor, what is stopping Voldemort from coming here right now? He knows all about this place."

"Harry, you underestimate me. You must understand I have taken all the precautions necessary to keep that evil away from Hogwarts. You will understand more fully when you finish up this library.

"It is amazing how quickly you learned how to apparate. I am pleased to tell you that you are the first person to learn how to apparate from merely reading the three D's. Once again, Harry, you have shocked me. I don't like it." Dumbledore laughed before sitting down near the pensieve again.

"Now let's get started; show me how you've progressed since yesterday." Harry sat down and gave him a show of his wandless magic skills. He could tell Dumbledore seemed pleased by his quick learning. "Well, Harry…that again is amazing. You have done more wandless magic in your second day of knowing about it than I did in months."

Harry was now shocked…he was becoming stronger than Dumbledore had when his powers emerged. Did that mean he would be stronger than Dumbledore? Harry didn't know if he liked that thought. Dumbledore asked him to do different spells with his wand, then without it. Harry did nearly all of them with the same results with and without his wand.

Just as Dumbledore was getting up to leave for the day, Harry remembered his dream. "Erm…Professor?" Harry wasn't sure if he should worry over this, but decided since he could tell Dumbledore easily, he might as well.

"Yes, Harry?"

"I had another dream…it wasn't of a memory, but more similar to the one I had last summer. I was walking down a dark hallway…and there was a door. I tried to open it, but it was locked. Then I heard Wormtail scream from inside…and then Voldemort…he said that Wormtail had failed him…again. Then as he cast the Cruciatus curse on him aand I woke up."

"Harry, I have not been completely honest with you, and now that you have, I feel I need to tell you what happened. You see, your scar connects you to Voldemort." Harry shuddered at this thought, but Dumbledore continued. "A few days ago, you felt your scar burn. You told Sirius you felt anger…I am almost certain that Voldemort's anger was so strong that it passed into you. I must tell you what he was angry at…

"Arrabella Figg informed me that two Death Eaters showed up at number 4, Privet Drive. I believe his anger was when they reported back to him that you did not return there. You see, Harry, you foiled his plan. No one was supposed to know he had returned except his Death Eaters…but you fought…you won, and you got back…You stopped Voldemort from coming back unoticed. Because of you, I have been able to organize the order once more. Because of you, the dark wizards have something to worry about. Because of you, the world will not bow down to Lord Voldemort.

"Your dream…Wormtail failed Voldemort. This is obviously good news for us. I will set to work right away to find out what he failed to do. Thank you, Harry. I see your potion is nearly done…I can't wait to find out what animal you will become. I dare say you will astonish me once more."

Throughout the day, Harry practiced apparation so he could apparate quickly without having to think for a moment. He was a natural at it. Harry then tried without his wand, and found that the unpleasant squishing sensation did not occur. It actually felt great to move around wherever he wanted to rather than an uncomfortable experience.

The potion was done by noon, so Harry filled several vials. He continued reading books and studying. Hermione would be jealous when he told her he had developed a photographic memory. It was true, he could remember everything he read or did. Harry was getting tired of reading, so he decided to try out a couple paintings. He found in a book how to find secret words that would make secrets appear. He was sure the Marauders knew how to do it, or how could they find Dissendium, the password to open the one-eyes witch to go to Honeydukes.

Harry looked around until he found a strange painting…or rather, lack of painting. It was just a frame with pure black where the painting would normally go. Harry touched the painting and instantly he began swirling around like what the portkeys did to him.

Harry stopped swirling and opened his eyes…well he thought he opened his eyes, but it was pitchblack. Was he in the painting somehow? Or was it a portkey that had taken him some place dark? "_Lumos Solam," _Harry shouted. The light, as bright as the sun, erupted out of his wand.

Harry found himself in a forest. Suddenly, a Death Eater came out from behind a tree and fired _stupefy_ at Harry. Harry quickly dove to the side while casting his own _stupefy _back at the Death Eater. Harry's connected and it was followed by an _Incarcerous _and ropes flew out of Harry's wand and tied the guy up.

The lgith from Harry's wand was out now, so he shouted at a tree, "_Lacarnum Inflamare._" The tree burst into flames cast a warm, dull light over the forest.

Harry walked over and pulled of the Death Eater's mask off, to find that he had another underneath. He continued pulling until he realized he wasn't going to get through. Suddenly a red light flashed over him missing him by a few inches.

Harry spun around to find another three death eaters each getting ready to send spells at him. Harry thought fast and apparated behind them. He shot out _Impedimenta spreata_, which is a wide _Impedimenta_. The spell hit two of them, and they instantly slowed to an abrupt stop. The third wheeled around just in time to see a stunning curse fly his way and send him down hard.

Harry wondered where he was…he didn't thing that the painting was a portkey. He rationalized that Voldemort hadn't been there in fifty years, so how could he have planned that far ahead and made a portkey for fifty years later? No…this was some place different.

Before Harry could think any longer, another Death Eater appeared from behind a tree and they started dueling. Harry thought he had the upper hand, but the Death Eater kept getting faster and faster. Harry apparated, hoping he would catch his opponent off guard, but when he appeared behind the Death Eater, he saw it also apparate away.

The next thing he knew, he saw a light coming from his left side and spun around to find _stupefy _coming right at him. It was too late, he got hit. The next thing he knew, darkness overcame him, and he felt the spinning sensation again.

"Wow…excellent work on the first four, Harry. That last one was tough though." It was Sirius voice. Harry opened his eyes and found himself back in the Chamber's room.

"What happened…I had no idea where I was…I just touched the painting and the next thing I knew…I was fighting." Harry was very confused. He felt relieved as Sirius smiled.

"Well, from what I gather, you found yet another secret. I could see everything in the painting. I arrived just as you got sucked into the painting. I rushed over to find you in the painting lighting up the area. Then I watched you fight…I didn't know you could apparate, that is amazing, Harry. Anyway, then you got sucked out here once you lost. My guess us that it is a training realm. It uses your memories and fears to create a place where you can fight. However made that is a genius."

"Wow! That will be nice to have. Did you see the potion? It's ready, you know." Harry was very excited to find out what he would become.

"Excellent!" They made their way over to the potions lab and looked down at the vials of green potion. It swirled and changed red as Harry picked one up. "Now, you will drink this, and you will find out momentarily.

"Cool…well, I'll see you when I come out of the trance." With that, Harry drank his potion.

Harry's eyes fogged over until he saw only pure white. He looked around and saw only white. Then from far off, he heard music…it was beautiful. It calmed him down, and made him feel safe. Harry recognized it as a phoenix…_Wait…that can't possibly mean…I'm a phoenix?_ Just as Harry thought this, he felt himself lift off the ground. He looked to his shoulder and found a phoenix pulling him up. Suddenly, with a wonderful cry, the phoenix let go of Harry, and he fell.

Before he hit the white ground, Harry felt himself push himself up without any thought. He was flying, well, his body was flying, and he wasn't doing much more than allow his instinct to take over. Then, Harry decided to take over, and beat his arms…which he found to be wings when he looked over…and he flew upwards. He could fly without a broom or anything. He opened his mouth to shout, but melodic tunes came out instead.

Just as he began to control himself, and realize he was, indeed, a phoenix, the white around him started to fade. The room came back into focus, and Harry looked directly at Sirius' smiling face.

"Well? What are you?"

"I'm…I'm a phoenix."


	6. Increasing Powers

Chapter 6: Increasing Powers

"You know it's not good to steal someone else's joke…it isn't as funny. I am offended that you think me as gullible as wormy, wormy Wormtail." Sirius looked a bit nervous as he spoke.

"I'm serious…I am a phoenix!" Harry didn't blame his godfather for not believing him…it was supposed to be impossible. Harry was getting sick of being so abnormal in everything, though.

"Well, if you're Sirius, then I'm Harry."

"Well," Harry tried to lighten the mood, "you could use a hair cut. Sirius…trust me, I am a phoenix…that is, if I did the potion correctly." Harry ran his hands through his jet black, unkempt, yet handsome hair.

"Sadly, Harry…I almost expected something like this to happen. I guess it is a good thing. After all, phoenixes are amazing! However…I just didn't want you to feel so," Sirius hesitated, "unique…sometimes it is nice to be like everyone. You are a marvelous wizard, though, as I have said before. You aren't odd or strange, you are simply remarkable."

Harry was glad Sirius was there; he seemed to understand Harry's feeling. He was extremely excited to be able to turn into a phoenix…but he hated being famous, being different, having the weight of the world on his shoulders, and now, he had to deal with being the first person to ever turn into a phoenix. Questions buzzed through Harry's head instantly…_Will I ever die? If I get killed, will I burst into flames and be a new born baby? Will just my phoenix live on, and ill be stuck like in phoenix form forever?_

Sirius sensed Harry's discomfort and spoke, "Harry, don't worry. Everything will be okay. No matter what happens, people that love you will help you do whatever is necessary for your happiness. There are a lot more people that care for you than you realize, Harry."

"Thanks, Sirius…I guess I should be more excited about this. I just have a lot of questions about being a phoenix. Do you think ill have the powers of a phoenix, like healing tears?"

"Like I said before, Harry…this animal is in you. It is different than transfiguring yourself. You actually _become _the animal. So yes, I would bet my Gringott's vault on it."

"Speaking of money…I have something to show you." Harry wanted to know how to change into the phoenix, but he had enough of it for the night. Harry dragged Sirius over to the wall, and commanded it to open. The wall shrunk away, and the light reflecting off of gems and gold reflected back into their faces.

"Wow…that's more money than the Black family could ever dream of…" Sirius didn't speak about his family, ever. Harry was surprised to hear about them. Harry wondered what kind of a family Sirius grew up in. "My family was a bunch of pureblood fanatics," Sirius began, answering Harry's question, "and were obsessed with money. I have quite the fortune, being the only living Black, but it is nothing compared to this."

After admiring the fortune, they exited the room and went to the dueling dome, where Sirius trained the quick-learning boy-who-lived. Before Sirius left, he told Harry that he would let him tell Dumbledore about his animagus form. Harry went back to studying, and he exercised before going to bed.

Harry dreamt of flying that night. Not on his broom as he usually did, but just being outside, and flying on his own. Harry awoke feeling light and content. He did his morning routine and tested his wandless magic, which was steadily improving. He could cast quicker and with less thought. He was getting it.

Dumbledore appeared in the flames and beckoned Harry over to him. "So, Sirius tells me you successfully brewed the potion, and tested it." Dumbledore waited for Harry to speak. When he didn't Dumbledore said, "Oh, come now Harry, surely you aren't a ferret?"

Harry laughed at this; Dumbledore seemed to have heard about Draco Malfoy's wonderful experience last year. "Yes, sir, I took the potion. Fawkes will have a friend soon because I am a phoenix."

Harry expected Dumbledore to, once again, be shocked. He was. The dawn light reflected off of the old man's silvery beard and hair causing it to gleam as he spoke, "Well."

"Well…?"

"Well, Harry, I am getting awfully tired of this emotion. I enjoyed surprise the first time, but this is too much." Dumbledore stood up and gazed around at nothing. Harry was sure he was asking the same questions Harry had.

"So? What do you think?"

"Well, I think that you don't need to worry about it, Harry. What will happen, will happen. I trust everything will work out in the end. Whether you will be immortal as Fawkes is or not, it doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you learn to transform…and to fight. Sirius told me of the painting, simply marvelous. I expect you will put that to good use?"

Harry nodded, and they began their instruction. After Harry showed him his stronger control over his magic, Dumbledore asked Harry to show him his memory. Dumbledore told Harry how to extract a memory, and Harry placed it in the pensieve. Dumbledore pushed his face into the basin and disappeared. Several moments later, Dumbledore came out of the pensieve.

"I anticipate you will learn your transformation quickly based on your control in the potion's spell. If I am not mistaken, you got control of yourself right before you were sucked out of the daze?"

"Yes, sir." Harry didn't know what a normal dream the potion usually gave off. Dumbledore explained to him that most people just saw their animal. They didn't turn into it, but Harry actually turned into the Phoenix…and he gained control for a moment. He wondered what that meant.

Dumbledore then spoke in a light tone, "Well, I suppose the Order of the Phoenix can now be called the Order of Harry Potter."

With that, Dumbledore asked Harry to keep studying, and he left the room. Harry studied, practiced, and even went into the frame again to train. He lasted longer, but eventually a stronger Death Eater, or a larger group of Death Eaters would take him down, and he would just appear outside of the frame, slightly shaken, but unhurt.

Sirius came by again, and they began training in how to transform. "Usually the transformation is easiest to make on your head first. As Krum did last year, you will be able to hold your form even when it is not complete. Now, Harry, your meditation skills will come into play.

"I need you to clear your mind of everything. The second you start thinking of something, empty it of your head. Then, after that, focus on your phoenix that you saw. Don't think of Fawkes or phoenixes in general, just of your phoenix…you."

Harry tried, he kept thinking of things. _Wow, this is a lot different than wandless magic, I have to think especially hard for that….ahh, get out of my head!_

He could hold absolute calmness in his head for moments at a time, but he would think of something. Finally, he kept the silence in his head long enough for his phoenix to appear. First he saw it in his mind's eye. Then, he became it just as he did in the dream. A sharp gasp brought him out of his meditative state.

"Harry, are you not good at anything? I don't believe this. It took James and me a couple _years_! And you, a few _minutes_. That is unheard of…" Sirius voice shook as he spoke.

Harry opened his eyes when he heard Sirius' voice. His vision was spectacularly clear. His glasses seemed to have fallen off, so why was his vision ok? Why could he see where only his peripheral vision reached before? And most importantly, why had his nose sharpened to a point and turned a strange color?

He looked down at his body. Still two legs, still a waist, still a thin (yet now growing stronger) stomach and chest, still two beautiful golden and red wings…ok, so that was new. His upper body had gone phoenix!

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but out of his mouth came the most beautiful noise one could hear. The melodious tunes escaping his mouth came on their own, he had no control over them.

"Harry, if you…want…," Sirius kept losing track of what he was saying due to the wonderful calm that spread al over the room. "Want…to turn back, then you'll just have to…empty your head again and see yourself as human."

Harry did it in a second and looked up at Sirius, "So, not bad for a first day, I take it?"

Sirius laughed, even as a human, Harry knew how to calm him down. If truth be told, Sirius was a little apprehensive about Harry's amazing powers. Dumbledore said that Harry was growing at an alarming rate since Voldemort returned. There must be a connection.

"Harry, you are just like your father. You know exactly what to say. Listen, I couldn't change into my dog for a couple years, and I see myself as a strong wizard. I only told you the first two steps to turning into the animal, how could you have done that?"

"Is the third step seeing me as the phoenix? If it is, I have already seen that. In the potion, I became the phoenix for a moment…Dumbledore said I would learn fast because of that."

Sirius told him to go again, and again, and again until Harry could turn himself into the phoenix completely. He flew around the room, and picked Sirius up, yes, he had the phoenix's amazing strength. He touched down and turned himself back into Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived.

"Wow, Harry," was all Sirius could say.

They sat in silence for a long time, until Sirius broke it, "Just like with your wandless magic, you will need to practice to be able to turn into the phoenix without thought. I mean, without having to clear you thoughts. It will come easily, and based on your one-day learning curve, I imagine it won't take long for you to master it."

After that, time flew by. Harry was growing exponentially physically, mentally, and magically. Dumbledore was amazed by Harry's transformation. He said he would have to get Fawkes to come down when he was done with a mission he was on. Harry was unstoppable. A week passed and nothing could keep him from learning anything and everything.

He had gone through books worthy of 7th year students, and got into books that many adults wouldn't be able to follow. Harry's new photographic memory got only stronger as he remembered not only spells, but their history and benefits. He rarely used his wand by the end of the week and didn't need to think about Ginny and the spell anymore, it just came out of his hands.

In duels with Sirius, Harry won almost every time. When he used his wand, they were pretty evenly matched, but when Harry set his wand down and used his hands, Sirius lost. Harry could cast spells without thought, and two times the amount because he had two hands, but Sirius had only one wand.

Harry could only be stopped in the frame. It took an hour or so for the Death Eaters to get difficult enough. He laughed at how easily he was beaten the first time. The Death Eaters were remarkably strong after an hour, and it took all of his skills and instinct to keep him from being hit.

At the end of the week, he tried again in the frame. After an hour and a bit, his enemy's were extremely fast, and difficult to hit and dodge. He was apparating every few seconds and hurling spells at the twenty or so Death Eater around him. Harry used a new spell he learned, called the duplicating spell, to make a hologram type reflection of himself. He gave the fake him his wand and he could think on spells especially hard and they would shoot out of his wand, in his duplicates self's hand. It proved an excellent distraction as he could apparate into a tree and shoot spells down at the Death Eaters as they confusedly saw their spells go right through the fake Harry.

Eventually they caught on, and they looked up at Harry and began shooting spells at him. Harry turned into the phoenix and flew down dodging spells left and right as he flew. He picked up the nearest Death Eater and watched as he was hit by multiple curses and hexes thrown by the other Death Eaters. Harry lowered to the ground and turned back into human form.

He began fighting the now growing number of Death Eaters. Harry's hands were moving so fast, if he had time to think he might have wondered how he could move that fast. However, he couldn't think because he was so focused on the fight. Despite this, an image of Ginny appeared into his head. Then, he saw one of the Death Eaters cast a _Crucio_ on her.

Even though it was his imagination that thought this up, anger coursed through Harry. His power grew as he thought of the possibility of someone hurting her. Suddenly, a giant shield of fire exploded around Harry. It expanded until it passed through all of the Death Eaters, burning them to death instantly.

Harry stood alone in the middle of a small house sized ashen pit the flame created. Trees were black and crisped, half of them crumbling to the ground. Harry didn't know what happened. _Did I do this?_

Suddenly he felt the familiar spinning and found himself outside of the frame. Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus Lupin were standing there. Sirius' and Remus' mouths were open, staring at Harry. Dumbledore's twinkling eye smiled at Harry.

"That was impressive power there, Harry. Remus, Sirius, if you would give us a minute alone please?" Dumbledore's strong voice reassured Harry that everything was ok.

Harry said hi to Remus before walking over to the couch with Dumbledore. "Harry, I want you to know that everything is alright, you did nothing wrong. Actually, you did do one thing wrong. From what I saw, you let your emotions get the best of you. In that case it was alright, but I must warn you not to do that again, at least when you don't need to.

"You exerted tremendous power there Harry. Voldemort could have protected himself from that, so do not get prideful of your powers, although I must tell you that that was amazing. You must not allow you emotions to rule you. I don't know what caused it, but the reason you are here is so you can learn. One thing you should learn now is how to control yourself. I should hate to think the next time Mr. Malfoy insults you that he would be instantly burned to a crisp along with the rest of the students in the hallway with you."

"Yes, sir…I don't even know what came over me. Do you think my being a phoenix has something to do with this?"

"That is precisely what I was thinking. I would like you to turn into the phoenix now Harry." Harry obliged and shrunk down to a phoenix. He was a bit shorter than usual and looked to find himself in the state he had first seen Fawkes in during his second year. He was quite depressing, really. "Ok…now I would like you to transform, and you will have to focus on this, but transform into the more magnificent state of a phoenix."

Harry thought hard on his typical image. He felt himself getting bigger slightly. He heard Dumbledore sigh in relief. "Ok, Harry, this is great news, it means you can control your stage. Your anger must have subconsciously made your phoenix explode as phoenixes do, but since you were in human form, it manifested itself in a much greater explosion.

"This answers one of my questions of your predicament. I wondered whether or not you would go through the same stages as a normal phoenix, as normal as they are. I now know that you can control your phoenix phase, that is, unless you allow yourself to go beyond control. I would like you to practice this. See if you can cause this explosion on a more controlled emotional status, and then see if you can control the power of it. I know you will succeed."

Dumbledore arose and walked over to Lupin and Black with Harry behind him. Sirius instantly questioned Harry, and he explained to the two what they thought the cause of it was. Remus interjected how astounding phoenix-Harry looked. Harry quickly caught Lupin up on everything.

"….So you see, professor, I've been here for a week and a half now." Harry liked being with his old professor again.

"Please, Harry, call me Remus. You call Sirius by his first name. So, I bet you are wondering why I am here."

"Ok, R_emus_, and you are right, I was wondering."

"Well, as you may or may not know, the full moon is one week from tomorrow. I need to take some wolfsbane potion if I wish to stay myself. This last year had been torture without it. I hurt myself when I barricade myself up. With the potion, at least I won't wake up with bite marks all over.

"From what these two have told me, you seem to be quite the potions master. I would like you to see if you can make the potion by tomorrow so that I can take it up until the full moon."

"Of course I will. I will get started on it right now. So, where are you going to stay for the full moon?"

As Harry walked with the others to the potions lab, all three of the adults answered him. "He ('I' for Lupin) would like to stay here with you, Harry."

Harry laughed and called out, "Jinx," but when they went to their wands to block him as if he was about to jinx them, he told them the muggle tradition to say 'jinx' when people say the same thing. He then asked, "That'll be awesome, will Sirius stay as well?"

"Yes," chorused all three of them. Dumbledore, who always loved muggles, quickly said, "Jinx."

Harry laughed again and realized something. "This potion is new, so it won't be in those books…."

"Yes, we thought ahead." Lupin handed him a parchment with a long, and rather difficult instructions attached. Harry looked at them quickly and made sure he had all of the ingredients. He began as the others talked about the room. After five minutes Harry was able to leave the potion for half an hour.

"It will be ready by tomorrow morning, Remus." Harry liked calling him Remus; he was feeling closer to him already.

"Great, thank you. Now, Sirius says he can't beat you in dueling any more. I think us two may be able to take you on, still." He grinned and Harry agreed to take the challenge.

Dumbledore said he had urgent business to attend to, and he turned to leave. Before he reached the fireplace, Harry called out, "Did you find a new Defense teacher, Professor?"

"I didn't do the finding…it seems the ministry would like to keep a close eye on us, so a ministry official will be joining us this year." With the twinkle in his eye gone, he turned and disappeared into the fire.

Harry felt bad for his headmaster. This school was Dumbledore's sanctuary…and it was not just a school, it was his school. It was his home, and Harry felt bad that Dumbledore had to allow the ministry into his home.

"Why is the ministry being so idiotic?" Harry kept his temper in check, remembering his lesson with Dumbledore.

"They, meaning Fudge and those dumb enough to believe him, think Dumbledore's after the Minister spot. Dumbledore was the favorite for the job when it was opened up, and Fudge has never forgotten that. Now, he wants to turn the public against him…he's doing a pretty good job on that, but those who know what is really going on, that believe you and Dumbledore, they are all in the Order, or at least helping convince others of the truth."

Lupin picked up where Sirius left off, "Now Fudge is placing a ministry worker here to spy on what Dumbledore is doing. They think he is trying to build up an army out of the students. He is not far off actually, because as people learn more about Dumbledore, they trust him, and naturally join the Order, which is an army, in a sense. However, Fudge is convinced that Dumbledore is power-hungry, and he cares too much for his position in the magical world to see what is so obvious."

"What a moron," was all Harry could say. He quickly checked on the potion before leading the other two to the dueling dome. Lupin was fascinated with everything in the room, and the dome was no exception.

"Wow, would you look at this place? Well, let's do a quick disarming duel. If you beat both of us, then we will move on." They began dueling, slowly at first, Harry expertly dodged both of there spells and sent two out of his hands back at them. Lupin looked taken aback by his wandless magic, but got over the surprise as the duel got underway.

Harry relied on his instinct again to dodge as he dished out spells very quickly. He decided to have some fun with them, so he jumped behind a rock, and threw his wand over the side like a grenade. In midair, he willed it to stop and face them. He stepped out from behind the rock, and they lost interest in the wand and shot spells at him. Harry shot two disarming spells out of his wand as he put up a shield to block the incoming spells.

He watched, satisfied, as his father's best friend's wands came flying towards him. Remus was shocked; Sirius just grinned. "I had no idea you could control your wandless magic so wonderfully, Harry. It threw me there, and then your wand display…I should've seen that coming after you did it in the frame." Remus joined Sirius in grinning as he spoke.

They began a full out duel, two on one. Harry won the first few, but as time went on, the two older men caught on to a few of Harry's tricks, and they won a couple themselves. Harry was once again reminded of Sirius' lesson to not get into patterns. He needed to learn enough techniques so as to not allow people to catch on and beat him.

It was getting late, so the two older men left with a goodbye. Harry tended to the potion and went to bed. He was tired from the day's work and fell asleep easily. He awoke, and did his morning routine of swimming, working out, and eating a wonderful breakfast. Dumbledore joined him, but only for a moment as Harry didn't have time to work on his new assignment, and was done with wandless magic practice.

The day went on, the potion was nearly finished, Harry read some more, and began working to control his exploding power. He went back into the frame and tried to make it happen. Harry was smart, and he had a lot of logic. He knew that he needed to explode his phoenix in human form, and that his anger had done that once already.

He put his mind to the test and willed himself to get to the 'bursting into flames' phase of a phoenix, but he could only do it as a phoenix. He would turn into a phoenix before exploding. Finally after several hours, he came to the conclusion that he needed to change phases in his heart, not his head.

It was similar to wandless magic. He needed to think of a powerful emotion to funnel his phoenix energy…and fire lit the world around him. Moments later, the forest was blackened again. He worked for another hour on controlling the explosion. He made good progress. He was sure Dumbledore would be proud. Harry was exhausted from the work he did.

He left the frame; he found he could will himself out of the frame. He just finished the potion when Remus and Sirius appeared. "All done!" he shouted across the room to them. The cauldron was smoking with the potion.

Harry conjured a goblet and filled it full of potion and handed it to Remus. The potion was smoking still. "Remus, would you like me to test a few things, and see if I can make it more enjoyable to drink? I remember you saying it tasted awful."

"That would be great! But until you know that it is exactly correct, I would like you to keep this batch ready for me. I need to drink every night in the preceding week of the full moon." Lupin quickly drained the goblet and shuddered at the taste. Smoke was still coming from the goblet.

Harry found something very interesting while reading. Apparently, in the old days when the Four Founders lived, they wore glasses. They were not glasses to improve their sight, but rather to have charms on. There were charms to make you see--through the glasses-- invisible objects, through walls, and see behind you. It reminded Harry a lot about Moody's eye.

He thought that Dumbledore surely had some cast on his own glasses. He had seen Harry through his cloak before. Harry looked at the spells. They were very complicated. Normally, spells were just something you said, and the magic happened. Harry had seen a couple of spells where more was involved, now he had a few more spells to add to that category.

Some spells took more concentration that others, some just took more magical ability than others. The spells Harry was looking at took concentration, ability, skill, time, patience, and energy. Harry went to work. An hour later, he could see through walls when he wanted. He could look at a wall normally, and then see through it if he wanted to.

Harry called it a night and went to bed. One morning routine later, Dumbledore was listening to Harry explain his phoenix phenomenon. "So, Harry, you see that your heart has once again given you a power beyond that of most people's comprehension. It is very draining I am sure, so you can not do it very often, or you may hurt yourself."

Harry then told Dumbledore about his glasses, and that he planned to put more charms on later. "Excellent work Harry. I see you have found out my secret about how I see through your cloak. Cloaks are wonderful, but they can give a false sense of security to many.

"Harry, I need to leave now, but I am going to ask you to research something more specifically now. Voldemort is going to try to get the Dementors to follow him again. I need to know anything and everything about Dementors to see if we can't find a stronger protection than the Patronus, because few people can make a corporeal Patronus."

"Corporeal Pat…" Harry began.

"Corporeal…it means it takes a form, as your stag does. Anyway, I think Dementors existed in the Founders' days, so I would like to see their history, and anything you can find. I will see you tomorrow, Harry."

"Bye Professor!" Harry exclaimed as Dumbledore flooed away. Harry jumped up and ran to the library. After searching for twenty minutes, Harry had a stack of books on magical creatures. Harry skimmed through each one until he found a chapter dedicated to Dementors.

Harry read quickly but in depth. The book was written by Ravenclaw. He stopped several times, but most of the things he rea, he already knew. In the middle of the chapter, Harry read: _No one really knows where Dementors come from. I have had many theories, but my most plausible one is this: Storant Grentlewald, one of the most evil persons to walk this world, disappeared suddenly in the middle of his reign. Many thought he had a sudden death. But I believe he is not dead. Perhaps he made one too many Horcruxes and his soul ceased to exist—perhaps he was and is the first Dementor, and he found he could kiss others to make them like him. I believe this to be the most feasible explanation for the origins of Dementors._

_The Patronus is made by…_Harry stopped reading. This made sense, except…what is a Horcrux?


	7. Restless

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter 7: Restless

Harry kept reading different theories about how Dementors could have come about, but the first one he read made the most sense, even if he didn't know what a Horcrux was. He just knew it made someone's soul diminish based on Ravenclaw's writings.

He read up on the Patronus and found that it was truly remarkable that he could make one at the age of 13. Although, everything he was doing now is remarkable for someone age 14. Harry read more and made several silver stags when he was interrupted by the two faithful, remaining Marauders.

Upon seeing the Patronus, Padfoot and Moony both said, "Hi James. Harry, he looks just like your dad did."

Harry grinned before giving Remus his potion and chatting with them. "So, Dumbledore asked me to read up on Dementors…either of you know what a Horcrux is?"

"No, why?" Sirius answered as Remus shook his head with him.

Harry explained the theory, and both of the men agreed that it sounded like a possibility. They dueled again, with Harry winning all but a few, before Moony and Padfoot left. Harry went back to his studies and finished everything he could find on Dementors. He finished up and after his nightly routine, got into bed.

Harry awoke and went for his morning workout. Harry could tell he was gaining muscle and endurance. He was still slim, but not as scrawny as he used to be. Dumbledore walked in just as Harry finished his treacle tart.

"Hello, Professor," Harry said through a mouthful of food. "I found some interesting things about Dementors."

"I am excited to hear about it." Dumbledore appeared amused at Harry's easygoing attitude towards him.

Harry swallowed and he dove right into Ravenclaw's theory about Storant Grentlewald becoming a Dementor by using too many Horcruxes. Harry saw Dumbledore tense up at the word Horcruxes, and Harry asked, "What is a Horcrux, sir?"

"That, Harry, is a good question. Let's take Lord Voldemort for an example. Young Tom Riddle was an orphan, as you know. He was angry at his parents when he found out about his powers, and his past. You saw the grave where his father and grandparents lived. Tom killed his only remaining family.

"When someone murders, they lose a bit of their soul…and that, is where the Horcrux comes into play. Voldemort used the loss of his soul, and harnessed that piece inside of an object. A very important object…well, wouldn't you want a piece of your soul in a thing of great significance?

"Tom placed his soul into his diary," Harry's eyes had widened as he heard the explanation, but now his mouth dropped open as recognition hit him. Dumbledore continued, "A diary that would fall into the hands of a girl fifty years after it was made a piece of his soul. A diary that would be destroyed nine months later by a certain young man here in front of me."

"So his diary was his Horcrux? What does that mean? What happened to him?"

"Correction, his diary was _one_ of his Horcruxes...it means that there is one less piece of his soul to destroy…and Voldemort, I believe, was unaffected directly, other than that he has one less piece of his soul…no pain or harm was done to the being of Voldemort."

"He made more? How many times can someone split their soul? According to Storant Grentlewald, there is a limit."

"Yes I believe there is a limit, which is why we need not worry about him continually making more and more. I do not know the limit, but it does not matter, just that there is one. Voldemort would have been killed that night when he killed your parents, Harry, but he had Horcruxes to keep him…I daresay…alive.

"He existed…I'm not sure how, but he was not dead. When he nearly came out of the Diary, I believe his self that inhabited Quirrell, and after that, was in Albania would join him in his younger self. A year ago, when Peter Pettigrew found his master, he took him to one of his Horcruxes, where he regained a 'body.' He needed the potion to return all the way because the Horcrux could not do it for reasons unknown to me."

Harry was surprised to find that it didn't hurt to have the graveyard experience spoken about, although, it could have been because he had so many questions running through his head. "Wait…is that why you wanted to come here in the first place? You thought there was a Horcrux here?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "Yes, Harry, you found me out. I believed there to be one here. When we were in the Chamber, I felt magic here…I thought for sure it was one of them, but no such luck. Of course, there was such luck as to find this place," he said waving his hand around the room.

"Well, Professor, couldn't it still be here? I mean, already I've found several secret places. Couldn't he have just put a Horcrux somewhere here? It could be anything."

"It _could_, but it isn't. Tom would not place pieces of his soul into an old boot, for example. I believe them to be in very important objects to him, or very valuable objects. We will go more into detail on that later. Time has gotten the better of us, so I must be off. However, Harry, I will think about what you said about it being here…I should not overlook the most obvious."

With that, the elderly man with flowing white beard, got up, and left in a flash of green at the fireplace.

Harry's head was buzzing. How could anyone allow their _soul_ to break into pieces, and do it willingly? It was a terrible thought, and suddenly, Harry felt sick. He didn't know this sickness, it was homesickness. He never had a home to miss, really. Of course, there was Hogwarts that he missed every summer, but he truly longed to be at the Burrow, with his friends…his family.

Harry decided to lose himself in studies. _After all, it always worked for Hermione,_ Harry thought. That made him miss the Burrow more, and he felt bad he wasn't there with his best friends and Ginny. He once again went to the book he was reading.

Harry had decided to study Giants as well. He remembered Dumbledore suggesting to Fudge to contact them before Voldemort did. He was amazed at all the fights they had. They were not wars; they were inter- and intra-tribe battles. They used to live all throughout England, but Wizards drove them out.

Harry was soon bored of Giants, so he went on to a new subject: Arithmancy. He knew it was Hermione's favorite class, and since he had gone through most of the Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Charms books, he decided to learn more. Harry wanted to have a lot of knowledge on everything possible.

One subject Harry had yet to study was Divination. He didn't like it at all, and thought that either you had the Inner Eye, or you didn't. And Harry certainly didn't. Harry had a Voldemort Eye. He could see Voldemort during his times of weakness. Harry came to the conclusion that when he was asleep, he saw what Voldemort was up to. When he was awake, his scar burst into pain.

Harry was lost in Arithmancy when Sirius arrived with Remus. He was rather enjoying the new subject. "Arithmancy?" Sirius asked, "That was your mother's third favorite class. Behind Charms and Potions…remember how ol' Slughorn treated her, Moony?"

"Oh, yes, I do. I vaguely remember him being the one to give her hookups at the Ministry. He left me out of course. No future for the werewolves…" Remus started laughing. "James never was any good at Arithmancy. Yes, he left that for his wife."

"Ok, Harry, let's get right to dueling," Sirius said, as Harry gave Remus his potion. "Moony will sit out for this one…he's not quite feeling right. It's only a few days more 'til full moon."

"I'm only going to duel you?" Harry laughed. "This is going to be quick."

Harry barely noticed an exchange between The Marauder's. Sirius winked at Remus who nodded his head, smiling. The Godfather and Godson stepped into the dome and Harry waited for Sirius to start. Sirius began and began waving his wand like mad. Harry barely had time to react; he managed to block enough of the spells coming at him to dive behind a rock.

Harry was shocked. When did Sirius get faster and more powerful? Harry felt his shield almost falter, that hadn't happened before. Harry jumped up and began firing several spells at Sirius, but he soon had to go back on the defense as more spells were coming his way that were moving away from him.

Sirius' arm and wand were a blur as he muttered incantations. Harry felt again like his shield was going to break when suddenly everything went black as a red light broke through his shield.

Harry woke up to see his mentors standing above him with big smiles on their faces. "Well, I thought you lasted quite a while, Harry. You said it was going to be a quick fight."

"Where did you learn to fight so fast, Sirius? For that matter, how did you learn so quickly?"

Sirius and Lupin laughed. "We haven't exactly been fighting at our full potential. Dumbledore told us to—"

"—Dumb it down a bit. He recently asked if we would step it back up. He wanted you to learn humility. When you made your prideful comment, we knew it was time." Lupin finished.

"Ok, ok, so I'm not nearly as strong as I thought I was. And I learned to never underestimate and opponent. You two are good actors, making me think I was all powerful."

"Harry, I don't want your head to get big, but you are extremely powerful. I am a very good duelist, Harry, and I am sure you would beat 95 percent of the Death Eaters Voldemort has running around. Now that I have said that, remember there are another 5 percent that you must worry about."

Sirius told Harry to work on casting spells very fast. Harry, having the bonus of wandless magic, soon was able to hold Sirius off longer and even beet him a couple times. He would cast a shield with one hand, and cast offensive attacks with the other.

It was time for the Marauders to leave, so they disappeared. Harry studied again and worked out before going to bed.

The next morning, Dumbledore didn't come. Harry didn't worry, but he had hoped to talk with him. Harry was well into his Arithmancy books. With his powerful memory, Harry was able to move very quickly through the subject.

When he needed a break he would lift weights that he made, go into the frame (which was much easier than Sirius), or he would study the Dark Detectors. He soon found he was getting restless. He didn't know how much more Hermione-ing he could do.

Sirius came again, and Remus was looking a bit shabbier than usual. After giving Remus his potion, they dueled again. When Harry realized he was weaker, he pushed himself harder. He wanted to beat Sirius when he was really fighting.

Harry decided to use his wand, so he didn't have to rely on two outlets instead of one. He wanted to beat him one-handed, so that when Remus was well again, he could take them both. Harry had read up on wand theory. Several adjustments could be made to swishes and flicks to strengthen a spell.

Harry asked Sirius to go a bit slower so he could practice these spell enhancements. Harry wondered if he did them with his hands and fingers, if it would enhance wandless spells as well. After Sirius and Remus left, he found that out exactly.

He studied a wand movement, and then he would use his wand, and perform the enhanced spell. When he mastered that, he left his wand and just used his hand. He found that he could move his hands in ways to strengthen spells from _expelliarmus _to _stupefy_ to _protego_.

Harry studied more and went to bed. He did his morning routine, and Dumbledore came out. "Good morning, Professor. I missed having our lesson yesterday."

"As," said Dumbledore, "did I. I had business to attend to. I trust you did fine without me?"

"Yes…er, sir?" Harry continued with Dumbledore's nod. "I was wondering….When can I leave? I'm getting restless, and it's becoming harder to study. I miss the Weasley's and Hermione. I know how much this has helped me, but I won't be able to stand it much longer."

Dumbledore laughed, and Harry relaxed. "Of course, you are only fourteen years old…It is just that you have needed to be so mature—" Dumbledore saddened as he spoke. "—for your age, and I forget sometimes. I need you to stay for a while longer. I suppose your birthday is too far away as well. How about you stay until Remus no longer needs the potion?"

"That would be great," Harry said. "Will I go back to the Burrow?"

"Yes, and I think it would be for the best if you came back here for a few hours each day…perhaps in the evening with Sirius. I heard about what happened yesterday. I assume you learned your lesson?'"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, smiling. "Sirius taught me a lesson I won't soon forget."

They started into their lesson, and Harry shared his thoughts on Giants, which Dumbledore already seemed to know a lot about. Harry then showed Dumbledore his techniques with his hand movement which increased power. Dumbledore left proud of Harry.

After hours of Arithmancy and even a little Divination to learn more about prophecies, Sirius and Lupin showed up. Remus was sickly looking, but Harry knew it would be much worse after the transformation. "The full moon is in two days, and according to my charts, the moon will come up around—"

Harry cut him off, "—4:00 P.M. I know, Remus…you will be here around 3:30 then?"

Remus and Sirius nodded. Harry and Sirius dueled, and though Sirius still beat Harry with speed, Harry had more power in his spells, which evened them out. They each won about the same amount.

During the next day and a half, Harry studied very hard, as it was his last couple days here. He finished up a potion he had been working on especially for Remus, got further ahead in his Arithmancy knowledge, finished more spells on his glasses, and studied the rest of his upcoming subjects for his fifth year. He wanted to talk to Dumbledore about switching Divination and Arithmancy, and he hoped he would get a chance to.

Remus and Sirius showed up at 3:30 P.M. Remus was nervous, he didn't like people around when he transformed. "It's just like old times, only you'll have a phoenix rather than a rat and stag with you." Sirius was excited about the transformation, not exactly sharing the anxiety that Remus was.

Four O'clock struck and a couple minutes later, Harry watched for the second time as Remus' back arched and he began to transform. Sirius told Harry to transform, so he turned into his phoenix. Sirius was the dog soon after.

That night, Harry realized that though it may have been painful for Moony all those years, it was fun to be with his fellow Marauders. The werewolf was comfortable with Remus' mind. However, the wolf inside of him reached out and had a good time with the other animals.

Twelve hours later, Remus turned back. "Thank you, guys…That has not been so bearable, and fun, in twenty years. Padfoot, it's good to have you back. Harry, that was some good flying…I'm sorry if I took a nip at you, the wolf had some fun chasing you around." He was sick looking. Harry went over to his potion lab, and gave his old professor the potion he had started working on when he found out Remus would spend the time there for his transformation.

"Here, Moony, you will enjoy this, I hope. It should make you feel better…If you trust me that is. I did loads of research on werewolves, and then I used the Wolfsbane Potion to help make this." Harry watched as his confused friend downed the potion. Harry hoped it would work, for Remus' sake.

After a few moments, Lupin straightened up a little more, and the paleness left his face. "Harry, this is amazing. I've never felt this good after the full moon. Not even when I was young…Did you make this potion?"

Harry nodded, he was happy it had worked. "Well, when I've got sixteen hours a day to do nothing but study…I'm surprised nothing like it has been made before. It wasn't difficult. I just did some mixing of the instructions of healing potions and Wolfsbane. A little calculations and Arithmancy are thrown in there and you've got a nice potion to help heal a werewolf after transformation."

"Are you sure you are the Harry that fails Potions every year?" Sirius joked, though he was quite shocked at Harry's success.

"I never failed…I was always distracted, so I never realized the potential potions have. Well, it's late…I will be leaving tomorrow, so I want to get some sleep."

The two men left, in very high spirits. Harry fell asleep the second he hit his pillow. _Harry was again in the hallway he had been in weeks before. He went to the end, to the same door. It was still locked. "Wormtail…I have been patient. I want them back. They are much better than you. Perhaps I need to give you a reminder? Crucio!" The high-pitched, cold laugh echoed louder than the screams that came from behind the door._

"Harry, wake up…Harry." Dumbledore woke Harry up. "Are you alright Harry?"

Harry's voice shook, "Sir…Voldemort's angry at him again. He said that…that he wants them back…they are better that Wormtail. Who is 'them' that he wants back?"

Dumbledore looked sadly down at the young man. "I believe he wants his faithful Death Eaters back. You say Wormtail failed again?"

Harry nodded. "Good, then we don't need to worry about it just yet. You should get ready to go to the Burrow, Harry." Harry agreed and took a quick shower. The sun was barely up, so he was sure the Weasley's weren't up yet.

"Harry, before you go, I want to explain this to you. You have been here for about three weeks. You have progressed very rapidly, and your powers have grown exponentially. I kept you here, by yourself, for a few reasons. One, you could focus entirely on you studies, without distraction. Two, you could work efficiently, full time. Three, you have been able to learn how to control yourself. Like I said, your powers have grown exponentially, and you said you didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"Now that you have learned how to control yourself, I trust you will not forget or become too careless. You will come back here every morning and evening with me and Sirius. You may come more if you would like."

"Will I be able to bring the others?" Harry asked, hopeful.

"I thought you would ask that. They may come, but I want you to keep the way to get in a secret. I suggest casting a silencing charm on yourself so they can't hear what you say. Remember, this is a place of training," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I hope you won't use it for some other reason."

Harry wasn't sure if Dumbledore was implying what he thought, so he decided just to not mess with it. "Remus told me about your potion…I must say, Harry, Professor Snape will be surprised to hear of your advancements. Excellent work, I was never much of a potions brewer myself. I have too little patience. You mother must have passed the right stuff on to you."

"Professor, you said I should cast the silencing charm….Does that mean I can use magic outside of here?"

Dumbledore chuckled. He nodded his head to say 'yes' as he said, "Harry, of course you can't use magic outside of Hogwarts. I would never allow that." Harry laughed.

"Professor, I was wondering if it is too late to switch classes. I would much rather take Arithmancy than Divination. Arithmancy helped make the potion, and all the wand movements are loaded with it. I think it would be better if I studied something that would help me later in life."

"Do you realize you will have to make up two years of schooling that the other fifth years will have already covered?"

Harry smiled, "If anything, sir, I will be ahead of them by the end of summer. I just want to take it to get a more modern Arithmancy. After all, these books are a thousand years old. I have a really good memory, Professor, and I think I will do fine in the class."

"Well, Minerva…that is, Professor McGonagall, will be pleased to hear of the switch. She does not…appreciate…the magic that is Divination." He smiled at this. "I believe I should have a constant watch over Trelawney, however, because she has made two prophecies regarding Voldemort already.

"Now, I'm sure you want to get to the Burrow before Molly makes breakfast. Actually, I wish I could join you….Her cooking will hit the spot this morning. However, duty calls."

"Sir, do they know that I am coming?"

"Ah, Harry, that would take the fun out of it. They should be surprised to find you there this morning."

He stepped into the flame, muttered something so Harry couldn't hear, and disappeared. Harry followed suit; he took a deep breath for the upcoming floo ride, and muttered, "The Burrow."

Harry stepped into the Burrow and just as he opened his eyes, he felt a wand stuck in his back.

A/N: I know, I'm terrible at cliffhangers, but what can you do? Thanks for those who have reviewed! I want to answer some questions, but that may ruin the story, so I'll just say a few things. I know Harry-animagus-phoenix is done a lot, but what I noticed is that Harry doesn't use his animagus form in a lot of stories. I plan to change that in this fan fiction. I said earlier that I would use many of the things that happen in Order of the Phoenix, but I will also change it a bit. I do not want to get into Voldemort imputing images into Harry's mind. If I do that, then Dumbledore will have to back off, and Occlumency will be needed, and I really don't want that. I will just continue with the dreams like he had in his 4th year.


	8. Back to the Burrow, Again

Chapter 8: Back to the Burrow, Again

Using the Charm that Harry put on his glasses, he looked behind him without turning around. He sighed relief when he found Ginny…She was smiling, clearly enjoying scaring Harry like this.

Harry pointed to her behind his back, and in one motion he disarmed her, spun around, and gently put his lips to hers. It started off small, but when Ginny's surprise left, she kissed back, and the last few weeks of being without the other were made up for. They reluctantly broke the kiss and smiled at each other.

She looked good. He wouldn't lie. In just three weeks she seemed to have filled out more, and Harry needed to strain himself to keep looking at her face. Her face was very beautiful, however, so it really wasn't that hard.

"I missed you, Gin." Harry hugged her tight. He felt odd that he liked her so much. They had only gone out for a couple days. However, he realized he had been thinking of her constantly when learning how to use wandless magic. "Where's everyone else?"

"They are all still asleep…I am an early riser. So where have you been? How are you? What have you been doing? Why haven't you written? How come no one told us anything?" Ginny pounded the questions into him.

"Whoa! I will tell you with Ron and Hermione. How is she by the way? Has Ron done anything stupid?" Harry didn't want to tell everything twice, so he decided to wait so he could say it all at once.

"He isn't being as big of a git as usual, but he is oblivious to how he feels. Sometimes I wonder how I am related to him. Hermione is great; she was upset that you left before she got here though." Harry gave Ginny back her wand which made Ginny smile. "So I was right about the wandless magic, was I?"

"Yes, Ginny, you were." Harry grinned. Just then, someone came downstairs.

"Harry!" Hermione rushed to him and gave him a big hug. "Oh I was so mad you left. Couldn't wait for me, could you? So, where have you been?"

"I'll tell you when Ron gets up," Harry said, smiling at his friend.

"Oh, no you don't. He'll never get up if we don't get him. Let's go there right now." She happily ran upstairs into Ron's room. Harry heard Ron yelp as he and Ginny walked up the stairs.

"Hermione, don't you ever knock? Coming in here like that, what if I just got out of the shower or something?"

"Oh, Ron, you don't shower. Besides, Harry is back; I thought you would want to get up." As Harry walked in, Ron looked as if he couldn't decide whether to bicker with Hermione or greet Harry. So he did both.

Harry stopped Ron after a short argument with Hermione about whether Ron showered or not. He said, "Listen, do you want to know where I've been or not?" They instantly quieted. Harry didn't want to mention it being in the Chamber of Secrets, so left that part out, saying, "Dumbledore and I found a place where I could train full time. It is awesome, and I learned loads. After breakfast I will show it to you."

The three were angry at Harry's vague description, and fired questions at him. He said, "Stop! I will show you all after breakfast; it will be better to show you than to just tell you."

They stopped asking questions when the twins apparated in. "Harry, so great to have you back." Ron had jumped and fell out of his bed when the _CRACK!_ of the twins arrival sounded. He angrily got up and back into bed.

"We were wondering—"

"—When you'd get back."

"We have…things—" George winked.

"—To discuss with you." Fred finished.

Harry sighed. This couldn't be good. Maybe they were going to show him some of their new 'items' they were working on. The other three looked at Harry curiously.

They were all interrupted, however, by Mrs. Weasley bursting through the door and rushing up to give Harry a bone crushing hug. These hugs normally left Harry rubbing his ribs and gasping for breath, but he found he was much stronger and they didn't hurt him. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes, everyone." She left no doubt to make a feast of a breakfast for Harry's return.

"So, how have your summers been?" Harry asked.

The Weasley's plus Hermione all went into an explanation of their summer. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had spent all their time together, not doing much at all. Fred and George, on the other hand, and been in their room a lot, but said they had not had a lazy summer. With another wink, George said, "We've managed to keep busy with some new ideas."

Then Harry brought up The Order of the Phoenix. "What do you guys know about it?"

"Mum wont let us join—" George started.

"Even though we are of age," Fred broke in.

"—But we have our ways of getting information." He pulled out of his pocket an ear. Harry would have been disgusted if he didn't know the twins. He was just curious.

Hermione looked at them disapprovingly. "The ear helps them hear what they aren't supposed to. They slide it downstairs and they hear what the Order members say."

"Until Mum caught us. Now it's tough to get any information. She thought she got rid of all the extendable ears though. She's wrong, of course." Fred looked pleased with himself for hoodwinking their mother.

Harry laughed. It was good to be home. "We still didn't find out much, though," Ron said. "Snape comes here…I can't believe they let that greasy git in our house. He gives them reports on Death Eater activity."

"So the Order meets here then?"

"Only some of the time. It's only here at all because everyone loves mum's cooking. They meet some other places that we don't know. That's why we don't know much.

Before they could continue talking, Mrs. Weasley screamed up the stairs, "KIDS! COME FOR BREAKFAST!"

Harry walked downstairs to find Dumbledore was there. He pulled him into the corner of the room, "Hello, Harry. I finished up sooner than I thought I would, so I am able to join you for dinner after all. I trust you have already spoken with your friends?"

"Yes, I was planning on taking them there after breakfast, if that's alright."

"Yes, that will be ok. I will convince Molly during breakfast." Dumbledore's eye twinkled.

"Can they use magic when there, Professor?"

"It will be in Hogwarts, so I see no reason why not. Though, only you are allowed to outside of Hogwarts…However, I hope you won't need to use magic often."

They ate breakfast, and Harry watched with much amusement as Dumbledore spoke in low tones to a frustrated Mrs. Weasley. She eventually softened when she looked over at Harry smiling at her.

"Goodbye, Harry. I will see you tomorrow," Dumbledore said as he stepped into the flames.

Harry gave his thanks to Mrs. Weasley before turning to the others. "Come over to the fire please," he said. They all walked over, and Harry cast the silencing charm, so they couldn't hear how to get into the Chamber. "It Cost 10.00," Harry soundlessly said. The fire roared green and he pushed Hermione, Ron, and then Ginny, through the fire into the Chamber before going in himself.

He stepped out of the fireplace of the room. Harry enjoyed the looks on his friends' faces. Hermione was staring over at the library with a longing on her face. Ron was looking at the dome, open mouthed. And Ginny was looking at Harry, with a smile on her face.

Harry took off the silencing charm and asked, "What do you think?"

Twenty minutes later, Harry was asked by Ron and Ginny to duel them. Hermione was busy going through the library. They walked into the dueling area, and Harry started dueling. They were no match for him, even though he used his wand.

Harry showed them the black painting, and entered with the three others. Harry never went into the painting with more than one person, so it was a different experience. The Death Eaters came faster and a bit stronger. Harry was alone after the first ten minutes, the others having been hit with curses already. The Death Eaters still came out quickly, so it only took five minutes for it to get difficult.

Harry hadn't told the others about being a phoenix, so he decided it would be best to show them. Once he could hold his own any longer, he turned into the phoenix and flew up. Once above the trees, he soared back down, dodging spells with ease. About five feet from the ground, Harry turned back into himself and shot spells left and right out of both hands, wand forgotten in his pocket.

Harry apparated around shooting spells, but soon there were dozens of Death Eaters. Harry used his most powerful—and draining—spell, or rather power. He exploded inside, and the aura of fire burst around him. A few Death Eaters picked up their shields fast enough, but the majority was burned.

Harry decided to not worry about the other Death Eaters, and he exited the painting, panting for breath. When he opened his eyes, Hermione was looking at him with concern and amazement, Ron was glaring at him, open mouthed, again, but Ginny was just smiling that beautiful smile. She apparently wasn't that surprised for some reason.

"That was amazing, Harry…" Hermione had a shocked look on her face. "When did you learn to fight like that, and apparate, and when did you become an animagus?"

"A phoenix?" Ron managed to get out.

Harry nodded before going into the explanation of becoming an animagus. Each of them wanted to try the potion. Harry said he would have to ask Dumbledore about it before he gave it to them.

"You've only been here a few weeks. How have you been able to learn so fast? And for that matter, why have you been here?"

Harry knew it was time to tell them the prophecy. He had come to terms with it. He actually was lightened by it. It said he had a chance, and a good one at that, with the unknown power. He just didn't want to see his friends' pity and terror.

"Come here." Harry walked them over to the Pensieve. "What I am about to show you never enters someone else's ears, you hear me?"

They all nodded, Ron looking a bit scared at Harry's seriousness in the matter. "There is a prophecy…It was made in the presence of Professor Dumbledore. He heard it about fifteen years ago."

Harry pulled out the memory of him watching the memory of Dumbledore. He placed it into the pensieve. "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal…and he shall possess a power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die for the other to live…"_

Harry didn't know when Ginny's hand found his, but he was glad it did. He looked up expecting the worst. Ron, typically, was open mouthed again. He looked a bit scared. Hermione was looking anxiously at Harry, pity etched into her face. Harry sighed.

He looked at Ginny. No pity there. It was pure determination. "This is great," she said. It shocked the others. She went into an explanation. "Well, we already knew Harry was going to face him again. It's no secret that Voldemort wants him dead, so that didn't change. All that did was say that Harry has a power that Voldemort doesn't."

Harry smiled at her…She really did know Harry exactly. "Exactly," he said. A loud breath escaped Ron and Hermione.

"We didn't think about that." Hermione spoke for the two of them, "We just assumed that you wouldn't have liked to hear it."

"Well, Ginny is right. I already knew deep down that it was me or Tom." He took a deep breath. "So, now you know why I've been training non stop for three weeks. You know why I have some strong powers. I don't know how strong I am, but I know that I have to learn in order to take down that monster.

"And I know…that you three will be there with me every step of the way. If I had it my way you wouldn't be—"

"—Mate, we are here for you no matter what you say. We have a role in this upcoming war, too."

"I know, Ron; that is why I'm not going to argue with you on this. I want you to be safe, but something tells me, even though you aren't in any prophecy, that you will play a role, and a big one at that."

Ron laughed, "What, have you been studying Divination here, too?"

Harry kept his face straight. "Yes…which reminds me, I won't be taking it this year. I'll be joining you, Hermione, in Arithmancy. I don't know why I didn't take it before."

Ron looked shot down, and Hermione piped up. "Oh isn't it wonderful?"

"Yes, that and Potions have become my second and third favorite subjects."

Ron looked like he was going to hurl. "What did they do to you, mate? Potions? I mean, Divination is bad, I can understand you dropping it, but having Potions be one of your favorite classes?"

"Hey, it helped Remus, and it helped me become an animagus."

"Remus…as in Professor Lupin?" Harry nodded. Hermione continued, "We saw him a week ago while he was at the Burrow for the Order. It was so weird seeing him. He looks a bit better, doesn't he?"

"Well, having an old Marauder around has helped. We have had some good times here. Last night was the full moon, let me tell you. I can understand why the Marauders looked forward to his transformation, other than Remus of course. It was loads of fun."

They talked for a few more minutes before Ron said he wanted to train a little. So they turned loose. Harry was glad when Ron went into the painting and Hermione buried herself in books. He turned to Ginny. "You know, I never thought you would be the one to understand me the best. I've only _really_ known you for a short time."

"Oh, Harry. I used to watch you all the time. I know, like a little girl with a crush…because that was what I was. I know you very well."

"Well, I want to get to know you, Gin." He said, kissing her lightly. "So let's go duel." They laughed at Harry's lame take on getting to know a girl. Ginny obliged though, because it was a good way to get to know that girl.

The day passed as Harry shared experiences with the others, taught them several things, and just had a good time with them. Soon, the afternoon was over, and Sirius came through the fire with Remus. Harry told the others he would meet them at the burrow when he was done. They exited through the fire with three shouts of, "The Burrow."

"Had a good time, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, yes, a very good time. It's always good to be with friends." He looked at them, "So, I am sure to have a good time now, right?"

"I'm not going to go any easier on you with our duel, Harry. You should stop trying to soften me up."

They entered the dome. Harry took out his wand, and they started dueling. Harry moved faster than he ever had. He and Sirius were in a zone. Nether could hit each other, or when they did, the other muttered the counter curse before it did any damage.

They apparated around, Harry could tell Sirius didn't like constantly apparating. Harry did not have to endure the squeezing feeling constantly, though. Harry could apparate-duel very well. Soon, Sirius stopped apparating and had to rely on his speed to stop Harry's hexes, curses, jinxes, and whatever else came at him in every direction.

Soon, Harry had Sirius beat. The one duel was enough to put most people in a coma for a week in exhaustion. Sirius, however just collapsed and breathed heavily for several minutes. He shakily got to his feet and Harry handed back his wand that he had gotten when he disarmed Sirius before he collapsed.

"Looks like you'll be moving on to both of us for real pretty soon, Harry." He managed to gasp this out between heavy breaths and pants. He turned into a dog and really panted, with his tongue out and everything. Harry laughed as he pet his godfather's head.

Harry dueled Remus alone, but Remus was a bit worse than Sirius, so the duel was also won by Harry. After waking the werewolf up, Sirius decided that would be it for the day, as all three of them were burned out.

The next morning, Harry rose from his bed in Percy's room and went downstairs to eat. He had breakfast with the Weasley's before entering the fire. "Harry, perfect timing, I just got here."

"Hello, Professor. What will we be doing today?"

"Well, because you have been progressing so quickly, it is time for us to move on to something much more difficult. This took me years to master, so I don't expect you to learn very quickly. However, with your past of learning things very quickly, I doubt it will take as long as with me.

"I will be teaching you how to feel magic. Feel it so you don't need to see it, or hear it, or use any other of your senses. This is how I knew there was magic here. I hope it will help in our Horcrux hunt, Harry."

"Our—?" Harry started.

"Yes, but first we must get the basics of this."

Dumbledore went into a complex explanation of feeling magic. Harry took in every word of his explanation. It was very difficult magic. It took great patience, power, and most importantly, control. Harry practiced Dumbledore's teaching by stretching his mind. He wasn't exactly sure how to do it, but he tried none the less.

"Clear your mind like when you were becoming the phoenix, but this time, when it is cleared, _feel around_. I know it doesn't make sense, Harry, but once you accomplish it once, it will become clear."

Harry cleared his mind relatively quickly. He let his mind wander, but not his thoughts. He sat in silence for who knows how long. He didn't know because he wasn't really thinking. He felt a calm come over him. And suddenly a sharp jab, not painful, more of just alerting him, the sharp jab broke his calm.

He wheeled around to where he had felt it. He was looking straight at Dumbledore, who had apparated across the room. Dumbledore smiled. "You felt that didn't you?"

Harry nodded as Dumbledore appeared with a faint _pop_ next to him. "Marvelous. Of course, you will need to practice constantly to keep that magical awareness always. Soon, you will be able to tell what spell is being cast, or where more magic is being used.

"There is an ancient and relaxed magic in this room, which is why it is so calm. That is why I do not suspect there to be a Horcrux here. There seems to be so little disturbance when in this room. Granted, Voldemort could have put a charm to prevent us from feeling it, but those are complex, and I doubt he would've wasted his time in a room he thought none would be able to enter.

"That will be all for now, though I must ask you to practice. It will be good for you to practice around distractions…with I'm sure the twins will have plenty of. Good work today, Harry."

"Professor…the others want to take the potion to become animagi. What do you think?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I don't think Molly will be too pleased with that. So let's wait until school starts."

They walked to the fireplace and went their separate ways.

Time passed in a blur the next couple of weeks. He quietly told Ron, Hermione, and Ginny about the possibility of becoming unregistered animagi. They were anxious to do it, and were surprised at Dumbledore's disregard for the rules. Although, Harry really didn't care much for the Ministry's rules. They were still calling him and Dumbledore liars, so he decided going behind their back was a way to get back at them without them knowing.

Harry was gaining significant amount of control over his feeling magic. He still couldn't have it on constantly, especially when he was with Ginny, but he managed to keep up good radar of magic being used. He was a little scared of what he felt whenever he passed the twins' bedroom.

One day, they brought in their business partner. "Harry, we thought you should be able to see what we are working on." Harry found many of their ideas funny, and some frightening. He was very glad he was their business partner, and not a tester for their products.

"You know, Fred, George, after talking to Remus and Sirius yesterday, I felt the need for a new generation of Marauders…What do you say?"

"Harry is growing up, Fred."

Fred sniffed, "I think it is time."

They dove into plans of pranks to come at Hogwarts. Most aimed at Slytherin and Snape. Harry didn't want to know how much trouble he was going to get into, but he needed a laugh.

Ginny walked in on them pouring over the Marauder's Map, and she questioned immediately. Soon, the four of them were pouring over the map. Harry marveled at the way Ginny blackmailed, tricked, and frightened her older brothers into letting her join the fun. Harry was also amazed at the ideas she came up with.

The next morning, Dumbledore asked Harry, "I want to talk to you about being a Prefect, Harry."

Harry instantly thought of the previous day, and felt a little guilty. Dumbledore obviously caught this expression and his eyes twinkled. "How would you like to follow in you father's footsteps?"

Harry instantly said, "I'll do whatever you think would help me do that, Professor!"

"Well, then, I will give it to Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger."

Harry sighed. If truth be told, he didn't want to be a Prefect, especially not after what he did the previous day. He was glad to find out that his dad was not a prefect in his day. Remembering Ron's reflection in the Mirror of Erised, and the way he acted last year before the First Task, Harry was glad Ron would get something that he didn't."

That night, after drawing a duel with both Remus and Sirius, Harry decided to shower before going back to the Burrow. When he stepped out of the fire into the Burrow, he was greeted by, "Happy Birthday, Harry!"

Because of the pace of the last few weeks, Harry had not even thought about his Birthday. It really was a surprise when the party was thrown. Harry had a great time at his party; after all, it was his first one. After his fourth piece of cake, not competing with Ron's twelve (with a look of disgust from Hermione), Harry opened his presents.

Harry received many presents that he enjoyed. From the books from Remus to the sweater from Mrs. Weasley to the Marauder's Guide to Pranking (much to the twins' joy) from Sirius to the watch, pictures, and kiss from Ginny, all his gifts were amazing and filled with laughs. Although, the funniest gift was between socks from Dobby, and the different joke items the twins gave him.

Over the next week, the new Marauder's decided to prank the other Weasley's and Hermione. After the third yelling match with their mom that week, the twins went upstairs laughing. Harry and Ginny followed and they got to work on their next prank against Ron. His freckles were going to be a bit more blemished the next day.

Harry was progressing very quickly with his abilities. He could win both Remus and Sirius half of the time they dueled, and that was when he used his wand. He could feel magic constantly, but still had trouble defining which spells were being cast. He could feel their presence always, though.

Ginny's birthday was in a couple days, so Harry decided to pay the vault in the Chamber a visit. He had studied how to make a necklace, and wanted to make Ginny one using an emerald and some gold in the vault. After Sirius and Remus left that night, he went over to the wall.

When the wall slid out of place, he felt a rush of magic. He walked forward slowly. When he found an emerald he liked among the pile of jewels, he bent down to touch it. When he touched the pile of beautiful jewels, he felt the strongest magic he had ever felt. It was throbbing in his head. He looked at where it came from, and it was straight in the pile.

Harry put the deep green emerald in his pocket, and he started digging through the pile. He pushed gold and ornaments out of the way as he felt the magic becoming stronger. He finally pushed one more load out of the way, and he looked straight at what was causing such a disturbance in his magic senses.

It was a small golden cup with two finely wrought handles and a badger engraved on it. Harry reached forward to grab, what looked like to him like Hufflepuff's cup, and he grabbed it.

Instantly, his whole body went limp, and he fell to the floor.

A/N: Thanks to anyone who reviewed, I always enjoy them, no matter what they say. So please drop a review whether you like my story or not. Thanks for reading!


	9. The Feeling

A/N: I know, an apology is due, so to anyone that has missed the story…I'm sorry. Anyway, enjoy, thanks a ton to all that reviewed, and a smaller thank you to those who have read and enjoyed but haven't reviewed.

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Chapter 9: The Feeling

Was he dead? It was certainly a peculiar feeling. He didn't know what to think. For three hours he had been alone to his thoughts. He couldn't use any of his five senses…that is what it boiled down to.

He thought if he was dead, it certainly wasboring to be dead, just thinking, not seeing or _being_ at all really. No, he was sure he wasn't dead. There was more to life and death than that. He was alive, but that goblet had cursed him. He hoped he was still in the Chamber, so that Dumbledore would be by the next morning and set things right.

He had spent the better part of the three hours figuring it all out, putting theories out in his mind, each crazier than the last. He first thought Sirius had crept up behind him and cast a spell on him while he was so immersed in the goblet and the strange aura it was giving off, the almost _painful_ aura.

Then, he realized it had been the goblet. The strange aura, of course, he was still feeling it. He could still feel around with his mind, just not his body. The goblet, Hufflepuff's goblet. It began to fall into place.

A Horcrux.

After all, Dumbledore had said, _I believe them _(pieces of his soul)_to be in very important objects to him, or very valuable objects._ Yes, from what Harry knew of Voldemort, Tom Riddle's only home had been Hogwarts. He was desperate to be able to stay there the year he framed Hagrid. It would make sense the most important objects to him had something to do with Hogwarts.

The Diary, his own personal diary, obviously it was important. Hufflepuff's cup was not initially something Harry thought Voldemort would want to place his soul into. It was _Hufflepuff_, come on. Then again, Harry would hold anything that reminded him of Hogwarts of great importance, and Riddle had said they were eerily similar.

Yes, it was a Horcrux. So, since that theory of what had happened rose above the others, he stopped theorizing. He tried to end the state he was in several ways. Sheer will to come back, he tried changing into his phoenix form, but nothing happened. So, he had hours to do nothing but think. So he thought about everything.

Spells, magic, the Weasley's, Ron and Hermione, Ginny, Dumbledore, the prophecy, Hogwarts, pranks, Sirius, his parents, death, life, Ginny, growing powers, phoenixes, magical feeling, love, hate, the graveyard, and Gi…

Then he felt a great power enter the room. Instantly he knew it was Dumbledore's aura he felt. He wondered if the wall had sealed shut again, but the answer came when he felt Dumbledore get closer. He saw in his mind a stretcher being conjured, and he felt his own magical body lift off the ground and onto it. Dumbledore came to a pause, only for a moment, and Harry knew he had spotted the goblet lying only a short distance from where his hand had just left.

Dumbledore didn't spend time on it though…after all, it wasn't going anywhere. He found himself in the floo, and then into a room he had never felt, but was sure he could identify it as Hogwarts' infirmary. He could feel a few things, like his usual bed, so clearly that he could almost see it.

Dumbledore's impression left the room, only to come back in and be followed by a smaller, calming power. Madam Pomfrey, no doubt. Yes, he would be fixed up in a tick. He felt her cast several charms, most he recognized as those to identify symptoms and learn of one's illness.

As minutes went on, he began to worry. What if they wouldn't find out what was wrong? They stopped, their auras standing still to Harry. He had practiced sensing for several hours straight, and he tried to concentrate even further to see if he could discern anything.

Their images became more clear to him, not at he would see them, but he could feel them in such intensity that he feel their features and movements. He decided with absolutely no distractions, absolutely none, he could feel anything he wanted. He felt the worry coming from Madam Pomfrey, and the determination radiating off of Dumbledore.

Harry knew they were discussing his condition with absolutely no idea what was wrong. Dumbledore turned and left through the fireplace, only to return with…Ginny?

Yes, it was Ginny, but what was she doing? Harry searched Dumbledore's feeling again, but found he was too distracted and confused by this new appearance to feel deeply. Ginny rushed over to his, he assumed, unmoving form.

Then he felt something.

Warmth flowed through his body impending from his hand. Ginny had grabbed his hand, and he felt something. However, that was it. He was not awake. He vaguely felt the adults leave the room.

Several images of what Ginny may be doing flew through his head. He didn't want her to see him weak. He was supposed to protect the world, but his girlfriend was seeing him completely defenseless. He saw her possibly crying over him, maybe she was ranting about how he could die, but that he _couldn't _die.

Then he realized with stupidity that if he focused, he could better guess what she was doing. He tried to pull all thoughts except her away from him. He began to get a clearer image in his head.

She wasn't crying. She was similar to Dumbledore, determined, but also nervous. She was radiating another aura though, too. He couldn't tell what it was. It seemed so strong, and unbreakable. Just as he began to focus and it started to come a bit clearer, all of his five senses returned to him.

He sat up quickly, not realizing he did so, and opening his eyes, saw that he was indeed in Hogwarts, with Ginny at his side, holding his hand. She was blushing, more than he had seen in a year, but she was also smiling happily, and she quickly hugged him.

It took a moment for him to register everything, and then he hugged back. He gave her a small, but strong, kiss on the lips. Then he felt it. He was sure it was just the fact that he hadn't felt anything for hours. Yes, that was it. The amazing feeling he felt inside himself, and that seemed to explode around him was just the shock of everything.

He deepened the kiss a bit. It continued to feel incredible; surely the shock would be over now. Afraid of this remarkable feeling he had, he pulled back, yet reluctantly. Ginny looked up into his green eyes, and he into her warm, chocolate brown ones.

The feeling only intensified, he didn't understand. What was going on? He was desperate to leave it, to stop the strange, uncontrollable feeling, yet he wanted to keep feeling its power. He wanted to understand.

He laid back down, dropping the gaze he had been holding. Was she feeling it too, or were these after affects of the curse? No, they were too whole, and wonderful. He was breathing heavily, and the emotion slowly began to die down. He glanced at Ginny, to see that she too was looking away and breathing deeply.

Harry led out a "wow," in a whisper. She looked back at him and smiled, causing even more emotions to explode. He couldn't contain himself and leaned up again and kissed her sending wonderful jolts to shoot through their bodies.

After a few seconds, the door opened and Professor Dumbledore walked in. They didn't notice though, and for a few moments, they were just lost in each other. When they finally broke, and Harry glanced around, he found his headmaster at the window, staring out the window thoughtfully, as if he hadn't seen a thing. Harry cleared is throat, but found, miraculously, that he was not embarrassed. It just felt right. One look at Ginny told him she thought the same. "Professor?"

He turned around, his eyes sparkling like Harry had never seen. "Are you okay, Harry?" Harry almost laughed. Okay? He had _never_ felt better. It was strange to think he thought himself to be dead not eight hours earlier…

Harry smiled and looked at Ginny, "Of course."

The twinkling, still at an all-time high, seemed to smile at the pair of teenagers. "You know Madam Pomfrey will want to check you out before you leave. Also, I need to have a discussion with you, about obvious things."

"Gin can stay?" It was more of a statement than a question, but he felt that if it was written down, it would deserve a question mark.

Dumbledore started to say no, but, as if something clicked, his eyes shot open and he nodded, "Certainly. Shall we talk now, or after our matron makes sure you are fine?"

Motioning Dumbledore over, Harry started. "I was in...Well you saw, in the training room, and I needed to get something out of the vault." He realized he had never shown Ginny or the others the massive gold stash, but he continued on. "When I entered, I immediately felt something strange…I mean, I sensed it, you know? I ignored it, but when I found what I was looking for, it was penetrating me so much that I had to find out what it was.

"I dug through some gold, and came to find a goblet, Hufflepuff's goblet. It was beautiful, but it was sending me awful signs. So I moronically reached out for it, and every sense I had, stopped.

"I could, however, still think, and reach out in my mind. I had several hours to mull over everything. I felt when you entered, and when we moved in here, and then when Gin came…" Harry stopped suddenly. Why had he come back? Did Ginny know a spell? He continued slowly, "And then the next thing I knew, I was up and feeling…amazing."

Ginny broke the short silence, "So you didn't hear anything?" Harry shook his head, and she sighed, half relieved, half shot down.

Dumbledore smiled, "I take it you have come to the same conclusion as I have on the goblet?"

Harry was pretty sure they were thinking along the same lines, so he nodded. He looked at Ginny's face. He could tell she wanted to know what was going on, but she completely trusted the two men. Harry knew Ginny would not press the issue until it was told to her. He loved her for that reason.

Surely not loved?

Dumbledore spoke again interrupting his confusion, "I will ask you two to come with me immediately then, and we will destroy a second piece of the evil's soul." Harry was shocked. So Ginny was coming. He would need to tell her that Voldemort made Horcruxes. How many? He could only guess. "I'll grab Madam Pomfrey quickly then, so she won't beat me with a stick." Dumbledore looked at Harry and nodded his head toward Ginny.

He looked back at her, the odd sensation filling him again as the wizened man left them. "Hey, Gin…there's something about Voldemort that you need to know. He, well, when one murders someone else," Harry went into a short explanation of what a Horcrux was.

"So, he has made several, at least, more than one for sure. I have already destroyed one…" He broke off, reaching what he feared most about telling her this.

"When? Where?"

"Just over two years ago, in the Chamber of Secrets." Silence echoed around the room. Ginny was having a battle inside herself, he knew.

"So let's go destroy that b…" She was cut off by an impatient, quite shocked, woman entering the room. She gave the boy in the bed a good look.

"Potter…if you feel fine…just…just go! You know what's going on and I haven't got a clue, so go!" She practically screamed at him. Harry almost laughed. She didn't deserve him.

He jumped off the bed, surprised by his lack of tiredness, although, he had been in a meditative state for many hours. They made their way to the fireplace. Harry was about to cast the silencing charm, so Ginny wouldn't hear, but Dumbledore stopped him.

"IT COST 7:56"

The three gathered around the goblet. "Last time you just stabbed it with an incredibly poisonous fang…see any basilisks around?" Harry laughed, then realized that a short distance away, there was a basilisk, rotting in a dank chamber.

Harry shook his head at Dumbledore, though he didn't need the warning not to divulge in the fact that there was indeed a basilisk fang near. Ginny had been through a lot emotionally already today, he was sure.

"No, Miss Wea…Ginev…Ginny. We need to find a spell to do this properly." Dumbledore drew his wand and cast several charms over the goblet, which made Harry start cursing himself under his breath for being so reckless before.

Dumbledore chuckled at Harry before casting the levitation charm and moving it over to the sitting area. Ginny whispered to Harry, "That room was…wow. I've never seen so much gold."

Harry smiled down at Harry. Ron was different; he was ashamed by the Weasley's poverty. Ginny accepted it, and realized it wasn't the end of the world to not have some of the things other wizards and witches did. She could openly talk about it without expecting pity or insults.

They gathered around the table with the pensieve on it. Dumbledore lowered the goblet down. "We can physically destroy it, as you did the diary, but I am worried there is another defense mechanism. There was nothing on the diary for obvious reasons of him wanting it to let someone in it. This however, was never meant to be found.

"So let's look at the obvious. Harry, Ginny, have any ideas?"

"We could pull the magic out, and it would diminish," Ginny suggested.

Harry thought aloud, "Well, it would be almost impossible, like ripping someone's soul from their body, something only death is supposed to do. Or if we were Dementors…I suppose we could take all the magic, excluding the piece of soul, out, _then _destroy the goblet?"

"That might work, Harry, Ginny, that is a great idea. I never thought of it…However, I have found an easier way, one that won't take hours of finding what curses are in the goblet, only to risk still missing one. It is love.

For some reason, Harry and Ginny immediately looked at each other without thinking, and then turned away to Dumbledore again. His twinkle was back. When they gave him questioning looks he explained, "The evil of murdering someone, not killing, murdering, for I have killed before, and I do not consider it murder…It was necessary, but I digress. The evil of murdering someone, then placing a piece of your _soul_ into an inanimate object can be countered easily by love.

"Love, Harry, is your power. The power the Dark Lord knows not…It has given you great power thus far. Now, love will overcome his soul, or at least a portion of it. I doubt you will know what to do…just do what feels right." And on that note, the mentor left the room via floo.

"Any ideas, Gin?"

"None."

He looked into her eyes again, and that strange feeling came over him. He didn't understand. She seemed to be feeling the same thing according to her facial expression. He took her hand in his and they both shivered. A really good shiver, he decided.

"Hey Gin…I usually don't talk about this stuff, but do you…?" Harry trailed off, but Ginny knew he was going to ask about the atmosphere.

"Yea. It's weird, but really…" This time she trailed off. She was unable to put it to words.

"Exactly."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. Harry's hand was still tingling slightly, and felt the urge to grab the goblet again. _Why would you do that?_ he asked himself. However, Ginny's hand moved toward the goblet.

He didn't protest because he had that feeling again to grab the cursed cup. Together, they reached out with their hands that were not interlocked. They grabbed it at the same time, wordlessly.

Nothing happened. He didn't black out. More importantly, she didn't. He didn't what he would do if she were to get hurt.

As he thought about Ginny, the goblet issued a deep, blood red smoke out of its cup. As soon as it started, the smoke stopped coming, but the smoke turned into a shape. It was indiscernible at first, but it soon took shape. At first he thought it was a snake…That changed quickly when he saw the disfigured face of Voldemort. The smoke faded with a snarl and was gone.

Harry and Ginny were speechless. Had they done it? What had they done? What were they thinking, grabbing the goblet that put Harry out of commission for hours? It had worked, though. Apparently, it worked because of love."

They looked at each other and instantly went in for another kiss. It did not develop into a snog due to the pureness of the kiss. The jolt they both felt sent their heads spinning. They pulled away and dazedly looked at each other for a moment.

Ginny smiled, sending another shock down Harry's spine. She laughed while saying, "Only the wonderful Harry Potter could kiss his girlfriend like that after defeating a piece of his enemy's soul."

Harry smiled, and he noticed the shift of Ginny's body, like he had seconds before. "Only the beautiful Ginny Weasley would kiss her boyfriend like _that _after they defeated a piece of his enemy's soul."

As if on cue, Dumbledore came back. "Oh, good!" he said when he saw them holding the goblet still. He turned and left without a question.

* * *

"Harry, Ginny, dears, where have you been?" Mrs. Weasley asked them worriedly. Harry quietly told Ginny with his eyes not to say anything. They had left a short time after Dumbledore…maybe not a short time. 

"We were just out for a bit, sorry to worry you Mrs. Weasley." Harry ran his hand through his hair distractedly, "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Oh, they are outside looking for you two. Ron said something about not wanting to leave you two alone."

The two teenagers chuckled as they went outside. They found Ron and Hermione at the pond, looking both uncomfortable and at ease. Harry made to levitate Ron's hand onto Hermione's, but Ginny stopped and whispered to Harry, "Let them figure it out on their own…we did." Harry nodded and set Ron's hand back on the grass without him noticing.

Instead, Harry sneaked behind his best friend and yelled into his ear. The next few moments passed quickly and ended with Harry holding a confused Ron to ground after Ron had tried to tackle him. "Boys" was heard a few feet away from them.

"Where have you guys been?" Ron asked suspiciously. Harry had to laugh before telling them the story. "Why did Dumbledore get Ginny?" Ron said after the tale was over.

"Well, I…Yes, that is a question we'll have to ask him later. Obviously he knew what he was doing." Ginny was apparently confused about that herself. Harry saw her start to blush and felt again like he was going crazy. Luckily Ron interrupted him, and saved him from snogging Ginny right there in front of his best friends.

"Our Hogwarts' letters got here today…" He sounded a little uncomfortable.

Harry knew what it was about, "You two made prefect, then?" Ron looked shocked, Hermione hid her shock quickly, following it up by beaming.

"See, Ron, I told you he knew it." She turned to Harry, "He was worried you wo…" She was cut off by Ron's cough.

Then the two began bickering about what he was and wasn't worried about.

Ginny looked over at Harry with an exasperated look on her face. They burst into laughter causing Ron and Hermione to look at them questioningly. Harry opened his mouth to tell them, but Ginny gave him a warning look as if saying, "Give them time."

Harry tried to collect his thoughts that night. So, Ron and Hermione had been told the jest of the story. Harry and Ginny both failed to mention a certain overpowering feeling they had been feeling, and that their combined 'love' had destroyed a Horcrux.

Harry was scared. He didn't feel love, he never had. The first time since before he could remember was when Mrs. Weasley hugged him like a son after the graveyard experience. Now, according to Dumbledore, he had loads of it, and apparently with Ginny.

He was only fifteen years old; she was on her birthday's eve of turning fourteen. Surely they couldn't love each other. He went to sleep feeling both confused and happy thinking of Ginny.

The next morning, before Ginny woke, Harry went back to the chamber and finished what he had went there to originally do. He finished her necklace, it looked great by his standards, but then again, he knew nothing when it came to that stuff.

Right as he was leaving, Dumbledore walked into the room. "I thought I'd catch you here, Harry. I wanted to congratulate you, I checked the goblet, and I now have two, perfectly safe, founders of Hogwarts possessions with me."

"The sword and goblet. Halfway there, right? Professor, I was wondering something…I mean no disrespect of course, but why didn't you feel the Horcrux when we went into that room weeks ago?"

"It is not disrespectful, I have given it a lot of thought. I have come to the conclusion that it is your fault," he said with a smile. "You surprised me that day with the paintings, and it hadn't worn off until I got them into my office. I guess I let my surprise win over my concentration. Hopefully this old dog can learn new tricks."

"Well, I've got to get going. It's Ginny's birthday." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Thanks, sir."

He went back to The Burrow. He was surprised to find Ginny wasn't up yet. No one was, but Ginny usually got up earlier than the others, so she could be with Harry before the brothers arrived. He crept silently up the stairs, and opened her door a crack.

Feelings overwhelmed him as he watched her peacefully sleeping. He floated over to the bed and knelt down beside her bed. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. She groaned awake. Her eyes opened on Harry and suddenly she was very awake.

"Happy Birthday, Gin. I…I got your birthday present…I wanted to give it to you away from the others."

"You mean that wasn't the present?" she asked innocently.

"Here, I hope you like it." She sat up in bed, wearing only a tank top and shorts. Harry cleared his throat, before sitting next to her on her bed. She unwrapped the necklace and gasped. He watched her face entranced before she caught his eyes.

"Harry, it's beautiful. Where did you get it? This must have cost a ton!"

"Absolutely free…I made it using some of the stuff in the Chamber of S…er, gold…next to the training room." He hoped it would be a smooth enough cover for her not to question him on the Chamber. Apparently it was.

The day passed in a wonderful blur. The party was fun until Fred tried to test one of the twins' new products on Ron by putting it in the cake, then it was hilarious. Mrs. Weasley cleared the table with the cake half eaten, and apparently ate the rest in the kitchen, because she came back with her arms as penguin flippers, which she used to beat the twins upstairs.

Several of the better-known Order members were present. Tonks, whom Harry had met a couple weeks earlier, entertained them by changing her face to look like whatever Ginny wanted. Remus, who had started taking the potion from Harry, again, was talking with Sirius looking over at Harry and the birthday girl.

The Next-Generation Marauders, excluding Ginny, gave her a lot tested as well as testable products. Ron and Hermione had apparently got together to get her omnoculars, which she was happy about.

Looking over the scene before him, Harry decided that for the first time in his life, he didn't want to return to Hogwarts just yet.

The next day, Harry entered the training room to meet Dumbledore. Fawkes was waiting with the Supreme Mugwump as he stepped from the flames. "Hello, Harry, Fawkes would like to meet…" but he was cut off as Fawkes flew over to Harry.

The great bird gracefully landed on Harry shoulder. Harry turned and looked deep into his eyes, and he back into Harry's. After several moments, Fawkes let out a great trill, which Harry understood. It said, _join me_.

So Harry turned into his phoenix form, and followed Fawkes into the air. Fawkes sang out, "Harry Potter, I have always trusted you, and now I know why. You are pure of heart, and a true phoenix. My partner holds great faith in you, as do I. Now, what have you learned so far about being a phoenix?"

Harry answered as if he was speaking English, but music came out of his beak. "I have practiced flying, and I have successfully changed phases, both as a phoenix and as a human, but as a humanI send a wall of fire out around me."

"That is interesting," he answered. "I will be teaching you how to teleport by way of flame. Then, if you learn quickly, I can teach you how to make yourself cry."

So Fawkes began instructing Harry. He learned flame travel very quickly. It had its similarities to apparating, but differences as well. He needed to focus on his destination, but then he needed to combust himself as he leaned. However, it wasn't phase changing combustion, so it took a bit of work to understand how to flame away.

"The benefits of this, is that all you need is a detailed picture or memory in a pensieve and you would be able to flame there. Also, there is no limit to amount of teleports or distance one travels, like in apparation. It will not tire you nearly as much, and best of all, there are no flaming wards set up anywhere on this earth.

"Although, you can also carry many people in your teleportation, whereas apparation can take a maximum ok just two people." Harry had mastered flaming very quickly and they moved on to healing tears.

Fawkes explained that the tears had little to do with the phoenix, but the person it was healing. He taught Harry a rather complex, but short, song that had no translation. "It will bring tears if, and only if, something or someone is in need of healing, has a pure heart, and has reason to be healed. "An old man—who is ready to leave this world and has no further purpose—will not receive healing tears even if he is pure of heart and has need of healing. A young man will receive tears if he fills the other two requirements because he has reason to live."

Harry wondered how a phoenix could determine of someone still had a purpose in life or not. As if Fawkes had read his thoughts, he spoke soothingly, "we do not determine, Harry. It is the person who decides, and other things from other realms that even I cannot explain." Harry had no practice with the tears, but had mastered the song to bring the tears.

Fawkes told Harry that his training was over, but he could talk to him anytime if he needed. Harry transformed again, and Dumbledore, who had left earlier, entered again. "It was helpful, no doubt?"

"Yes, sir...Professor, I'm ready to show you what happened in the graveyard."


	10. Back home

Chapter 10: Going Home

* * *

Dumbledore looked pleasantly surprised. "Well, that was certainly a change in topic. I am glad, but I must ask you, are you ready to relive that nightmare in more than just words."

"Yes. I am. I need to."

Dumbledore nodded and walked back to the pensieve. "Ok, Harry. I am assuming you will come with me?"

Harry just pulled the cursed memory out of his head, and watched as its silky white liquid-gas dropped and sloshed into the bowl. He plunged into the silvery substance.

He found himself standing with Cedric in the maze. Dumbledore arrived as the memory-Harry said, "On three, right? One—Two—Three—"

The image swirled and the two real beings watched as the two memory persons got up off the ground. Harry asked Cedric where they were, gazing around at the graveyard. Cedric asked if anyone told Harry that the cup was a Portkey. Soon, after pulling out their wands, a figure immerged from the darkness. A figure holding what looked like a bundle carrying a baby…

Harry watched in horror as his memory self's scar burst into pain, and that high pitched ordered, "_Kill the spare."_

Time passed, Dumbledore and Harry occasionally looking at the other to see their reaction to the unfolding events. When he saw the little demonic baby in Wormtail's arms, Harry felt cold inside. He needed warmth, and one thing he knew would give him that was sitting at the Burrow. Yes, he needed to get back quickly. He was empty inside at the moment, and he _needed_ her.

After memory Harry being tied up, having his blood drawn, watching in horror as his worst enemy came back to life, and the Death Eaters returning, Harry was in a desperate state. He felt Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder, allowing some easiness to creep back into him, but still, he didn't have what Ginny did.

He was able to watch the rest as he was released to duel. He was very upset about his performance not two months earlier. He would be able to do much better now. However, when the brother wands met, and the fight began, Harry saw his true potential show through as he won the battle of the beads. The phoenix song, though just a memory, still had an amazing calming effect on Harry. As the beads ran down the golden string connecting the wands and blasted into Voldemort's wand, and Cedric came out of his wand, Harry realized he'd see his parents again.

Memory Harry talked to his parents, and the real Harry was able to get a good look at Voldemort. His face was livid with fear.

Dumbledore spoke for the first time, "You see Harry…he does fear, and it's the love of your parents that he fears. It is love that will destroy him, as so many others' fears destroy them."

The memory changed quickly as the Priori Incantatem was broken and Harry grabbed the cup. The scene changed to the Third Task. Memory Harry would've been seen to be dragged off by the imposter, but Harry was looking too intently at Ginny. Even her mere memory comforted him. Her eyes filled with love, concern, and fear as she looked from afar at Harry.

Harry decided it was then that Ginny had decided to be his friend, rather than have a completely ridiculous crush on him. Harry ended the memory.

They arrived back on the couches surrounding the pensieve. Harry had a question. One he had been thinking for awhile, but only really gave it thought as he watched himself in the graveyard.

"Professor, I have a question."

"Just the one, Harry?"

Harry laughed, "Yes, sir, but I'm sure I'll think of some more." The air a little less tense now, Harry spoke his wondering, "Why have I become, forgive my bluntness, so powerful these past two months, Professor?"

"A wonderful question; it is one that I have pondered for some time. I have many theories, though watching you in the graveyard brings one to the top. However, I have a question for you first. When, apart from the last two months, have you felt the strongest, most powerful, achieved the most?"

Harry was a bit confused at where this was going. "I would have to say, first, was when I was with Quirrell. Second was when I helped Ginny and killed the basilisk. Third would be driving the Dementors away from Sirius. And then, in the graveyard, you saw how I collapsed when I got back. I had found strength somewhere to keep fighting."

"And what similarities do you find with all of these?"

Still confused, Harry played along, "They all happened at the end of the year…They all happened to do with me saving someone or something, including myself…" Harry trailed off trying to find more.

Dumbledore spoke, "All the time, you had love with you. First year, your mother's love increased your power and you overcame evil. Second year, Ginny was in trouble, though you didn't recognize it yet, I believe you had feelings at that time as well. Third year, your new father figure, friend, and possible guardian was in trouble. Your acceptance and love for him gave you power few have exerted before in driving off hundreds of Dementors. Fourth Year, you wanted to die like your father, whom you love, and ended up getting caught in something unexpected. You began to lose, but the phoenix song, only giving strength to those who are good and love, lifted you. It gave you the power to see your parents again, though just an image. You escaped with their words ringing in your ears.

"Second, Voldemort was there most of the time. The evil gives you power, Harry. It may be your connection with him," he said pointing at Harry's scar. "Or it may be the determination to beat him that you have that gives you strength, but regardless, it does. Your third year was not accompanied by Voldemort, but by other evils that create something worse than death even."

Harry thought hard on those experiences. Dumbledore was right, but… "Why am I strong now, then?"

"Because, Harry, Voldemort is back in full force bringing out your power and you have found continual love in the Weasley's, and a certain witch of that family." Having Ginny mentioned brought back the sick feeling he had, and his need to see her soon.

Having his question answered, Harry stood up. "Speaking of whom," Harry said, "I should be getting back…I am felling a bit…well, Professor, thank you. This has helped a lot."

As Harry was leaving through the fire, he vaguely heard Dumbledore mutter happily to Fawkes, "Yes, Fawkes, it has definitely begun. It will only be a matter of time now."

Harry entered the Burrow only to come face to face with Ginny. "Harry, what happened? I felt like, well, you were not feeling so well. I was about to go over to you."

Harry grabbed her in a hug, and he instantly felt soothed. Ginny seemed to agree as she sighed with content. He grabbed her hand and they walked outside together.

After several hours, Ron and Hermione joined them outside. "Mate, what have you been doing out here for this long?" Hermione hit him impatiently while Harry and Ginny laughed.

"Don't trust me with your sister, Ron? It's too bad I haven't done anything that would lose your trust." That earned him a hit from Ginny, causing them all to laugh. "Only, kidding, Gin. You know I'd never…"

"Harry," Ron said. "Why don't we go play a game of chess and leave these girls to do what they do?"

Harry thought for a moment. He really didn't want to leave Ginny. He felt the need to just be close to her. Whether it be talking or …"Mate? What do you say?"

Ron interrupted his thoughts, and he quickly said, "No, Ron. I'd rather not leave…especially to play a game I've never won you at."

Ron looked confusedly at his best friend and sister for a moment, before he walked off muttering under his breath. Harry was a bit confused, and after he looked at Ginny's perplexed look and Hermione's knowing and slightly scolding gaze, he decided to go ask Ron what was up.

Harry chased Ron into the house and up into his room. "Ron, what's up?"

Ron turned around, startled; he hadn't heard Harry's footsteps as Harry had trained to walk without a sound. "Nothing, I'm just being stupid, like last year."

"Tell me what's wrong, Ron. If this is anything like last year, I want to fix it now, so we do go months not being best friends."

Ron sighed, "That's the thing, Harry. Would you even care if I…nevermind."

Harry understood. "Ron, just because I am going out with Gin doesn't mean we're not going to hang out anymore. We'll still have classes and homework together."

"Yea, but you have already gotten out of divination; you never want to just play chess with me anymore, or anything else for that matter. You are gone for a few weeks, and you come back a totally different person."

Harry was getting irritated, "Like how?"

"You haven't lost your temper once, for example. And all the other things I've listed."

Harry thought it was ironic that he was being told he never lost his temper as he was getting close to it. "Well, Ron, I'm getting pretty close right now. It hurts that you think I'd leave my best friend, with whom I have great memories and—" But Harry stopped abruptly as Ron started laughing. "What?" Harry all but shouted.

"Well, it's nice to know you are still you. You just haven't been around this summer, and I expected us to."

Harry calmed himself down. Ron was being understandable. "Listen, I really like your sister. I feel good when I'm around her, but I will never stop being your best mate, or you mine." He wouldn't tell Ron, but he really wanted to get back to Ginny. She would make him feel better about the situation. "Let's just go back and do something with the girls, Ron."

Ron nodded ending the conversation and telling that he somewhat understood. Harry thought aloud, "You know, Ron, I bet Hermione is missing Ginny and me, too. You two could just get together and then…" Harry stopped, remembering what Ginny said about letting them work it out. He looked up at Ron's open mouth.

"What do you mean? You're kidding, right?"

Harry smiled and walked out the door, leaving a flustered, yet somewhat thoughtful, Ron in his room. When Harry reached the kitchen and made to go outside, Ginny walked in through the door. "Oh, Harry…I was going crazy out there. I, erm…I let slip to Hermione about how she and Ron should get together." They instantly interlocked hands and felt a calm sweep over them.

Harry smiled. "I let slip to Ron that he should do something about that, too." They both burst out laughing. "So much for letting them figure it out."

"So what was Ron on about anyways?" Ginny asked after they stopped laughing.

Harry told her everything. "Who does he think you are?" Ginny asked angrily. "Does he really think you'd abandon your best friend?"

"I just think he was a bit jealous of you, Gin. I assure you, there is plenty of me to go around," Harry said with a smirk. Ginny hit his arm.

Ron came downstairs just as Hermione entered, each of them avoiding the other's eyes, and the four of them decided to play a small game of Quidditch. They each got on a broom and took off. Harry missed Ginny's hand in his, but flying nearly vanquished that feeling. Nearly.

No sooner had this thought appeared in his head, when his head erupted in pain centered on his scar.

Harry tried to stay on his broom, but the pain made him lose his focus on everything, and soon he was falling, but the thought of hitting the ground twenty feet below didn't sound so bad compared to his head.

Then it all stopped, and Harry had a vague thought of high-pitched laughs and…happiness in a sick way flood through him before he was brought back to reality.

He was on the ground with Ginny's figure over him, holding his hand. Harry never realized he had hit the ground. But, he really didn't care as Ginny leaned down and kissed him worriedly.

"I'm alright now, Gin…but, he's happy."

"Harry, you just fell twenty feet from your broom," which he realized was in Ginny's hand, and he sighed with relief, "and you're worried about Voldemort being happy?

Harry jumped up, somehow fine from his fall. "Look, I'm fine, but that is a big deal…If he was as happy as I felt…" Harry didn't finish as he thought it would be disastrous.

Without telling the others what he was up to, Harry looked around carefully, and seeing no one around, transformed into his phoenix form. The next second he was gone in a brilliant flash of red and gold.

Harry transformed back into himself outside Dumbledore's office. He muttered an incantation under his breath, focused his eyes, and looked through the walls to make sure no one was in there but Dumbledore. Dumbledore was in his office, staring out of the window, looking grave. He reached up and knocked the Gryffindor knocker on the door.

"Come in, Harry."

Harry entered and noticed the founders had been added to the walls and Gryffindor waved to him, and Slytherin had his arms crossed but look rather content with his surroundings. Soon they had fallen back into feigned sleep. Harry told his mentor of his pain and Voldemort's emotion. "Yes, I have just received word that many Death Eaters have escaped Azkaban. That would be the reason for his…happiness."

"No…" was all Harry could say. Voldemort's most faithful minions were out again. Out to cause pain, out to get Harry. Then a thought came to his mind. "Well, at least in the middle of this awful news, the world will know he is back."

Dumbledore frowned. "Yes, many more will believe us, Harry. However, Fudge will do all he can to stop that. He does not want to be the Minister who allowed Voldemort to come back and not do anything about it. He will not admit his mistake, making it much, much larger."

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait, but in the meantime…I have set Order members at the Ministry to watch over the Department of Mysteries, where the Hall of Prophecies is. I believe Voldemort will want to know the full contents of what ultimately led him to his first fall. We can just destroy the copy of the prophecy, of course, but I am not allowed in the Ministry at this time, much less the Department of Mysteries.

"I also have sent Hagrid with Madam Maxime to make truce with the Giants. He just returned a few hours ago. Harry I am telling you some of our plans, because I believe you have the right to know, you are indeed a very, very important part of this. If you do not wish to know just tell me."

"No sir, please tell me all that you can or that you feel is relevant." Harry did in fact want to know all he could, and that started with this Department of Mysteries. He had not read anything on it because the Ministry was not what it was a thousand years previously. There were no books on current affairs in the Training Chamber. Distracted by his thoughts, Harry hardly realized Dumbledore had asked him something. "Sorry?"

"I asked how the Weasley's are."

"Oh, great. They are wonderful as always," said Harry, instantly thinking of Ginny. He became increasingly aware of the strange feeling he kept having when he was away from her for a long period of time. "Speaking of whom, I must be getting back unless you have more?"

Dumbledore's beard twitched and his eyes twinkled madly looking into Harry's own shining emeralds. "No, Harry. You must be getting back…"

Harry transformed and vanished in flames so quickly, Dumbledore hardly saw him turn into a phoenix at all.

Harry was immediately grabbed by Ginny. "Where did you go?"

Harry smiled. "I just went to talk to Dumbledore," and his expression grew weighty. "Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban." Ginny sighed a long sigh before looking up at Harry.

"It's ok, we're all safe." Harry nodded looking in her eyes and smiled again, feeling just what she said, safe. Harry looked up only for a moment and said, "Where are Ron and Hermione."

"Hopefully doing this," Ginny said as she stretched up and wrapped her arms around the boy-who-lived. Their lips met and Harry felt a small jolt come from his self and one coming from Ginny. He merely smiled and passed it off as the good feeling he always had around her. Apparently, so did Ginny.

* * *

It was a bitter-sweet moment when Harry fell asleep the night before returning to Hogwarts. He would be going home, yet he'd be leaving home. Hogwarts was Harry's favorite place in the world, but the past couple months had been wonderful bliss with Ginny, and the others.

As Harry fell asleep, he could only hope that things would not change much.

"Hurry, now…I can't believe we are late _again_." Molly ran around the house, picking up spare articles of clothing and supplies for school. Harry smiled as Ron and Ginny rolled their eyes and Hermione copied the matron of the house. She was muttering under her breath about books and whether her summer homework was good enough while going through her trunk for the sixth time.

They rushed out the door, and hopped into the Ministry car, which comfortably fit them all with more than enough room for their large trunks.

It turned out that Ron and Hermione were not together, but had left to see if Harry had gone in his room. They were worried he was brooding about something. Harry laughed at their strange assumption, and hoped that it was a cover-up for what he knew was inevitable. They _were_ sitting rather close on the way to the train station.

Soon they arrived, and each passed through the barrier without problem, but had little time to board. So, they each gave Mr. and Mrs. Weasley a hug goodbye promising to write, and hopped on the train. Harry vaguely heard Hermione pout, "…prefects Ron, we _can't _be late."

"Yea, mate, we've got to go to this meeting…"

"Alright, you'll join us later then?" Ron nodded, and then he looked a little uncomfortably between his sister and Harry.

Ginny sighed out, obviously trying to calm herself, and just grabbed a grinning Harry by the hand and pulled him down the train.

As it turned out, all of the compartments were full, but Ginny knew a girl at the end, named Luna Lovegood. Harry didn't know how to describe her, so he just dubbed her 'different.'

Neville soon joined them, and took one look at Harry's and Ginny's hands holding and their close bodies. He looked up surprised and a bit of something else before saying, "You two together, then?"

Harry smiled down at Ginny before nodding earnestly. The three of them—Luna was off in her own world humming an unknown tune—told each other of their summers. Harry and Ginny left out very much of what happened in their summer.

Very soon, the compartment opened once more, and Harry looked up at a girl he had long since forgotten, but now wondered why she was there. Ginny tensed a little, but Harry squeezed her hand telling her that there was no one other than her he wanted to be with.

Cho duplicated Neville's reaction to Harry and Ginny. She went a little red in the face and muttered, "Hey, Harry. I just, wanted…to see how your summer was."

Harry smiled, "It was," and he stopped. He couldn't say his summer was great, even if it was. Cho had just experienced a huge loss. It would be like he didn't care at all. "Unanticipated," he finished.

She smiled weakly again, and said, "Good." And she turned and left. Ginny motioned outside with her head, and Harry got up and walked out.

"Hey, Cho. Look, if you need to talk about anything, just ask me, ok?" Cho whirled around and gave a stronger smile, but her eyes held a little sparkle of tears beginning.

"Thanks, Harry. I might hold you to that. Just not now." Harry nodded and walked back into the compartment.

Hours passed and the prefects joined them. Harry became anxious soon, as he knew the annual visit from Malfoy was coming. He didn't know how he would react to Malfoy's taunts. They both knew the truth. Malfoy Sr. was a Death Eater, and was serving the Dark Lord. How much did Draco know? How would he act towards Harry, now? Soon, his musings were interrupted by none other than Draco and the cronies.

"What do you want?" Harry said forcefully.

"Manners Potter, or I might have to give you a detention." Malfoy stuck out his rather scrawny chest. "You see I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, and that means that I, unlike you, have power to hand out punishments."

Harry smiled at his weak attempts to get him riled up. Harry was glad he wasn't prefect. "Well, you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone."

Malfoy's large smirk faded a bit as the others laughed. But he struck again, "How does it feel, Potter, to be second to a Weasley?"

This hurt Harry…not because he was jealous of the badge, but because Ron was hurt from the statement. Harry gently stood up, releasing Ginny's hand. "Get out," he said coldly.

Malfoy, for the first time, seemed to look at Ginny and his eyes lit up. "Oh Potter, you've gotten yourself a—umf!"

Harry never realized he had grabbed Malfoy by the front of his shirt and pulled him up and slammed him against the door to the compartment. "Don't finish that sentence Malfoy." Harry spoke softly, but with more power than when Dumbledore had spoken to him after the car incident in his second year. "Don't cause any trouble this year. Don't insult my friends, or anyone for that matter. I won't have it." The glass in the room began slowly crackling, creating spider webs across the windows.

"If you do anything to…" but Harry stopped as several things happened. Crabbe and Goyle, whom Harry had been oblivious to the entire time, fell hard to the ground, the windows completely shattered, and Harry felt a warm comforting hand or his arm.

Harry slowly put a panicked Malfoy back on the ground. He took off running out of the compartment whimpering with fear, with the two bulky figures getting up and scampering after him. Ginny guided Harry back to his seat and he sat.

After several moments, Neville asked, "Harry, how did you do that?"

"Do what?"

A moments silence, then, "_That!_ How did you pick him up so easily, and make the windows crack, and make Crabbe and Goyle fall when they tried to grab you, and…talk like that!"

Harry sighed, "I let my emotions get the better of me, Neville. Accidental magic, that's all."

He looked up. Luna had stopped humming, but still looked dreamily out the now broken window. Neville's mouth was open, and he kept looking around the compartment as if searching for an answer. Ron and Hermione, knowing somewhat of Harry's potential, just stared hard at him, trying to understand. Ginny was giving him a scolding look, but in her eyes he could see gratitude and amazement.

And for the first time, he realized the room was in disarray. He had heard the windows but hadn't fully comprehended what he had done. The trunks in the overhead area were threatening to fall off.

Harry pulled out his wand and fixed the windows, tucked the trunks away, and fixed a dent in the door. He didn't feel bad, he wasn't going to take any crap from him this year. The rude comments, the desperation to get them in trouble…it all needed to stop. By force, if necessary.

"Harry, come on." Ginny led him outside, down the hall and into one of the bathrooms. Hey, what is going on?"

"Nothing, I'm just sick of it. I'm not going to—"

"I know, take any guff from him. Look, I appreciate you defending me, us, in there…but you can't hurt him. At least not until he follows his father's footsteps," she added with a smile and a sigh. "We don't want Voldemort to know how powerful you are, Harry. If he thinks he is better, then maybe you can finish him off before he puts more effort into fighting."

"Ginny, there is no way I'll be able to keep it a secret. I'm sure there will be Death Eaters to get on my way to him, and,"

"I mean your wandless magic and knowledge of just about everything, Harry."

"And about you, my secret power?"

Ginny blushed slightly. "What?"

"Oh come on…I'd be nothing without you. You were how I learned wandless magic. You were how I woke up from my coma," Ginny blushed deeper. "You were how I destroyed the Horcrux. Come to think of it…You are probably the second strongest student in Hogwarts, with all the training we've done."

"Well, it's all been you, really. I've had little to do wi—" She was stopped by Harry's lips coming onto her own. They forgot abruptly what they were talking about. They were only disturbed minutes later by Ron outside the door.

"Is someone in here? Harry, Ginny, are you in here?"

Harry broke and smiled at Ginny. "Yea," he smiled broader as his voice cracked a little. "Ginny's just been _talking_ some sense into me."

So they made the rest of the journey to Hogwarts in peace. Harry got off the train, and went directly to "Firs' years, firs' years over here!"

"Hagrid! How are you?"

"Oh, I'm just fine, Harry. How are you doing?" The great giant gave Harry a pat on the back, causing him to stumble forward.

Smiling, Harry answer, "Great Hagrid, just great" They bade farewell and Harry followed his friends to a carriage, and he sighed. A deathly reminder of the graveyard stood in front of him. A thestral looked over to him, and Harry shrugged and pet the beast.

Ginny, Ron, and Hermione gave him questioning looks. He explained the situation and the three looked at him sadly. Soon, they were off to the great castle. Harry no longer desired the Burrow. He was still with friends, with Ginny.

He was home now more than ever.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. I won't be able to write more for a while. Well, that's not guaranteed, but it is most plausible that I will not post more for a month or so. Even so, don't hesitate to review. I do enjoy my reviews. Thanks! 


	11. Home to Hogwarts

Chapter 11: Home to Hogwarts

As the carriage neared Hogwarts, Harry was able to expand his mind and fully appreciate just how good the defense and protection of the great castle was. He couldn't even focus on the individual protective wards due to the number and power of them.

Soon the thestrals had stopped and the teenagers clambered out and into the front door. They entered the front gates, and Harry and Ginny caught sight of Fred and George who winked at them. The twins walked over to the Slytherin table before anyone else and discreetly pulled out their wands.

Harry and Ginny then followed the plan and walked along the other side of the table, muttering charms under their breath. After reaching the end of the table, they went straight to their seats at the Gryffindor table. Harry, however, glanced up to the staff table and was rewarded with a twinkling eye.

Once the students all sat down, Harry looked up at the table to see the ministry's own representative—a giant toad with a fly perched on her head.

Then he realized it was, indeed, a woman…

She was squat, with short, mouse-brown hair in which she had placed a horrible pink Alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes. She seemed to know Harry was staring at her, because she turned toward him, and he saw that she even had a pair of toad-like prominent, pouchy eyes.

Their eyes met, and instantly Harry knew they would make each other's lives a whole lot worse this year. Luckily Ron broke the glare they were giving each other by saying, "Nice cardigan," while smirking.

Harry snorted and nodded his agreement. "Very nice indeed, it goes well with the pink fly atop the toad's head…I wonder when she is going to grab it with her tongue…"

Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all agreed thoughtfully, and all four burst into laughter. Before they could continue, however, Professor McGonagall led the first years up to a stool where she placed the hat. The whole school was quiet, each student holding his or her breath. Then the rip opened, and the Sorting Hat burst into song.

Harry listened, catching every word the Sorting Hat said. He looked up to see the headmaster of Hogwarts, eye twinkling, looking somewhat sadly and hopefully around the great hall as the Hat warned the students to unite if they wished to be strongest. Harry gazed around the school, trying to think of ways the school could become more united.

After the Sorting Hat finished the Hall burst into applause, but with much mutterings and whisperings behind the initial clapping.

Ron leaned across the table and muttered to Harry and Ginny, "Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?" His eyebrows were raised in question.

"Too right it has, giving us a bit of a warning…I can't think of anything to unite us all though. All the school-wide activities pit us against each other."

Ginny nodded thoughtfully and Hermione sat still, not adding anything, but looked up at the new Defense teacher.

Professor McGonagall began reading off the names, and the sorting began. Harry became impatient as "Lapham, Jimmy" sat up on the stool and began whispering, in Ginny's ear, names of the foods he would eat.

Ron, who had apparently been listening, all but shouted across the table, "Will you stop, I'm starving!" He then realized the entire Gryffindor table, and much of the Hufflepuff table heard him, and his ears turned a bright shade of crimson.

The other three friends broke into light sniggers as Ginny scolded, "You shouldn't have been listening in on our conversation anyway. For all you know Harry could've been talking about…something _you_ definitely wouldn't like to hear."

Ron's face then followed his ears' examples and heated up. He replied, "That was what I was afraid of." Harry vaguely heard, "Zeller, Rose" being sorted into Hufflepuff, and looked up to see the sorting done.

"Thanks for passing the time, mate."

Dumbledore stood up and spoke in a strong voice while lifting his arms and a smile on his face, "To out newcomers, welcome! And to our old hands—welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Harry smiled as the foods previously mentioned to Ginny appeared in front of him. He watched, and joined in, as his friends all reached in and grabbed all that their plates could hold.

Harry listened contently as Nearly Headless Nick spoke proudly of the Sorting Hat and noble blood and ended up talking about his death. Soon his stomach was full, and as if on cue, Dumbledore got up to address the school.

By the time he had reached when and where quidditch tryouts would be, there was a sound, that Harry already knew he was going to end up hating. "_Hem, hem,_" was the poisoned honey noise coming from the great toad's mouth.

The whole hall stared incredulously at the woman as she interrupted Dumbledore's speech, and stood to make her own. Harry once again listened to a warning. This time of change, and the ministry would be heading that change at Hogwarts.

Harry glanced around the room, and saw wonderful reactions from the student body. The majority, like Ron, were muttering in friends' ears and not paying any attention to the lady introduced as Professor Umbridge. A few others, such as Ernie Macmillan, were staring at her as if they were entranced by an object behind her, and every word was going right past them. However, it was Dumbledore's reaction that made Harry laugh under his breath.

The good professor was staring at the toad as if she were sharing the most fascinating piece of information known to wizard-kind. Soon after she finished her speech, Dumbledore stood back up and looked to her.

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he said with a bow, and Harry no longer could hold it and he let out a gasp of a laugh that he covered up quite nicely withcough exceptto his closer friends who knew him too well. Harry looked up to see Dumbledore's twinkling eye on him once more and his beard twitching madly as he finished his interrupted speech.

Fred and George managed to get Harry and Ginny's attention, and Harry watched as the twins cast the spell to initiate their previous spell. Just as Dumbledore made to sit down, half the students at the Slytherin table's hair turned hot pink, that illuminated, making Harry think of a neon Tonks.

Harry again looked back to the twins as the Hall burst into laughter and applause. He then glanced at Ginny before they said,

"Not bad, brothers of mine—"

"I'm sure that will be fun for them—"

"Ours on the other hand is a bit—"

"…We'll let you decide."

Harry and Ginny muttered, "_activatum_ _priori incatatem._"

The other half of the table, which Harry was happy to note was where Malfoy was sitting, also got bright neon pink hair. But their robes, which were previously the pale green and silver, also turned luminous pink, but the glow was bright enough to blind someone if they stared to long.

The Hall burst into a new mirth, and it didn't help when the students tried to stand up and were stuck to their seats, unable to stand, or move. It _certainly_ didn't help when Snape stood, walked down from the staff table and tried to lift Malfoy out of his chair and had the same pink affect on him.

Harry once again proceeded to glance up at the staff table. Dumbledore's beard was no longer twitching because it was moving up and down with his laughter. Even McGonagall's mouth was twitching until she, too, gave way and smiled.

With that, Harry and Ginny released the sticking spell and stood to leave with Fred and George in their wake. They vaguely heard Ron muttering brilliant, and Hermione telling him to stop staring and bring the first years up.

As soon as they reached the corridor outside the Great Hall they turned around and found the twins grinning down on them. "Now the Slytherin kids match the new teacher…" George said.

"That was brilliant, eh, George?"

"Indeed, Fred, but no time now, we have to get the thing."

"Right, plan 2 will be carried out now."

Harry glanced at Ginny. "We'll take care of part one, you two can do the dirty work."

"Agreed!"

"Meet us in the common room in thirty minutes," Ginny said.

So the couple set off in the opposite direction of the twins. Harry, knowing where to go, as he had been there in second year, led the way. He pulled out the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak as they picked up their pace.

Reaching the edge of the corridor, Harry turned down passageways and through dungeons and down one more corridor. He stopped abruptly and threw the cloak around them. He stopped for a moment, and looked into Ginny's eyes before kissing her deeply.

"What was that for?" Ginny asked, her eyes still closed.

"I've always wanted to kiss a girl under this thing." She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Ok, you caught me…I've wanted to kiss you under this thing for three months." Ginny smiled before Harry waved his hand over the parchment, muttering, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

The dots and names appeared, and Harry saw a large group of Slytherins stopping at a wall before a gap opening and them hurrying inside. Harry smiled at Ginny again and the rounded the corner, careful not to get too close to anyone. They crept up close before they heard a third year telling the stretch of bare, damp stone "Pure-blood." It opened, revealing a secret doorway and the small girl walked inside.

Harry and Ginny turned around and Harry asked her if they ever change their password. They made their way up to the Gryffindor tower, after shedding the cloak and clearing the map. They gave the password, _Mimbulus mimbletonia_, which Hermione had told them on the train, and crawled into the common room.

They passed Fred and George, posting a bulletin for testing products for money, and muttered, "Pure-blood" just loud enough for them to hear. The twins each gave a little nod, to show that they heard, and Ginny slipped the Marauder's Map into George's robe pocket.

Harry walked over to the girls staircase with Ginny. "G'night, Gin. Welcome back to Hogwarts, eh? It's too bad the _whole_ school won't see what the next generation of Marauders has done to the snakes…"

Ginny smiled and kissed Harry before walking up the staircase. Harry knew something was wrong as she walked up the stairs. He could see it on her face…and he could feel it.

Quite tired, Harry decided to turn in. He went up the stairs and into his room, now marked for fifth years. Harry gazed around the room, to find he was the last to arrive. "Hey Dean, Seamus. Have good summers?"

Dean immediately returned the greeting and answered positively. Seamus hardly looked up at Harry and didn't answer. "Seamus? Good summer?"

"Me mam didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts"

"What?" Harry asked, "Why?"

Seamus coughed before answering softly, "Well, I suppose because of you."

Harry merely glared at the boy and answered, "Ah…and you?"

"Huh?"

"What do you think Seamus…you've known me longer than most, do you think I am an attention-seeking liar who would say his parents' murderer is back from the dead to gain a little more fame?"

"Listen, Harry…" He trailed off.

Harry couldn't help but laugh after waiting for several moments. "I'm listening…"

"It's hard to believe, we have no confirmation other than your word."

Ron broke in, "That's plenty of confirmation then, isn't it?"

Harry was grateful for Ron's support and added sadly, but with a smile, "And the mass breakout of Azkaban is nothing?"

"Ok…I believe you, I just don't want to. It's too scary, the stories I've heard, and I don't want it to be true."

Harry smiled, more sadly, but with relief, "Good…It is good to know I have friends behind me in this. It isn't a great comfort reading the stuff in _The Prophet_ about all this."

Seamus nodded and got into his bed, drawing the curtains around his bed. The other boys duplicated the action and all got settled. Harry fell into a troubled sleep.

* * *

Harry awoke and looked at his clock. It had two hands pointing at the one. Harry felt sick, like he forgot something and he needed to get it done. Like Ginny needed help. He instantly got dressed and went downstairs. His fears were confirmed when he saw Ginny staring at the fire, with a pained expression on her face.

Harry silently walked over and wrapped his arms around her as he sat down. She was startled at first, and then she immediately relaxed. Harry felt the sickness wash away. "Hey, Gin. Wanna talk about it?"

"I…I had a—" She was cut off by the portrait swinging open and the twins rushing inside, whispering excitedly.

"Oooo, what are you lovebirds doing up?"

Harry, thinking quickly, said, "We wanted to know if everything went according to plan."

"Indeed, thus ends the pranks of pink. We will move into stuff later once we get settled next week, agreed?"

"Sounds great. Good night then," Harry said as the twins walked right to the stairs, and without a passing glance, walked up them. Harry turned back to Ginny, whom he was glad to see had a small smile. "You had a what?"

"It happens the first day back…every year since the Chamber incident. I always think I am past it, then I get the nightmare. It must be being in the castle, feeling all this magic again, brings it back."

"Do you want to go through the dream with me?"

"It's mostly just repeats of everything I did…controlling that beast, doing Riddle's bidding. I am sickened by it all. I killed roosters…who does that?"

"I do it all the time, Gin…" He knew it wouldn't offend her, he knew she would smile, he knew her. "Come on…you said it yourself, you are past it. You know it wasn't you. You _know_ that he is evil, and you _know_ it's all over."

"I still can't help but feel the Chamber still has a monster in it."

"You know it doesn't, Gin."

"We left in such a rush, Harry."

Harry sighed; he should have told her earlier. "Yes, but you've been back again. All summer you've been in the Chamber, Gin." Harry watched as confusion etched away and recognition replaced it on her face.

"And you never told me?"

"Are you mad at me?" he asked, carefully.

Her face softened. "Only because you didn't tell me earlier; we could've avoided this whole thing. Did you think I couldn't handle it?"

"I knew you could…I just didn't want you to have to handle it."

Her face completely softened, and she said, "That's sweet, Harry. But really, I need to know you trust me."

"I trust you more than you could know." Harry said it so sincerely _he_ was surprised.

Ginny leaned over and kissed him.

Maybe it was the fact that they were on a comfortable couch by the warm fire, maybe it was the fact that they were back at Hogwarts, or maybe it was the fact that Harry and Ginny had just shared some personal information…it didn't really matter why, but when the two kissed, such energy passed through them they broke the kiss breathing heavily.

Ginny looked into Harry's eyes and said, "Harry, what's going on?"

"I dunno, Gin. It's definitely not normal, but it is definitely wonderful." He closed his eyes and leaned in for another kiss. This time, they allowed the energy to remain as he deepened the kiss.

They didn't know how, but somehow they ended up lying across the couch, and Harry found, as he planted kissed down her face, that if he didn't stop soon, he might not be able to stop. He pulled back and started, "Ginny, I—"

He was pleasantly surprised to see she had pulled back as well and had said, "Harry, I—"

They merely smiled at the other and Ginny turned around, into Harry's arms, and snuggled up against him. He tightened his hold on her and pulled her in close, and before they knew it, they had fallen asleep on the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room.

* * *

Harry awoke feeling more refreshed than he had ever in his entire life. It was the most exhilarating feeling as his eyes shot open and he saw Ginny in his arms. He quickly took in his surroundings, and noticed it was probably about five o'clock. He didn't understand how he felt so revitalized after so few hours of sleep, but he didn't mind.

Ron wouldn't be awake for a couple hours, but Harry decided to play it safe, and take Ginny up to her bed. He gathered her sleeping body in his arms, trying hard not to wake her, and stared, entranced, by her face. After several moments, he shook his head and walked to the girls' staircase.

He was about to take the first step when he felt something was wrong. He felt around with his mind and came upon a charm. Harry smiled as he realized what would have happened had he taken that step. He quickly found a countercharm and cast it. Harry hesitantly took the first step and sighed in relief.

Unfortunately the sigh woke Ginny, who was immediately alert. "Harry? What's going on?"

"Well, I was going to take you up to bed before Ron caught us asleep together."

Ginny blushed a bit before adding quickly, "Platonically sleeping, of course."

"Well, yea," also blushing, "but he wouldn't care. He's a bit…overzealous about keeping us not overzealous."

"Well, I'm awake now, so you can put me down."

"Oh…right." Harry was actually reluctant to put her down, as it felt so nice to have her in his arms.

"Harry, how did you get on this first step?" She asked, smiling at him.

He smiled and said, "I'll never tell."

Ginny suddenly burst out, "I've never felt so reenergized in my life."

"I know. I can't figure out what it was. I got less sleep last night than I usually do."

"Me too…"

They looked at each other and blushed again. "It must be something to do with what is different with us…and with us being together last night."

Ginny nodded. "So, we're up, what do you want to do?"

"I think the new Marauders need to be introduced this morning…"

"Ron, would you please not talk when your mouth is full?" Hermione pulled a disgusted face and pushed her plate away from her.

Ron swallowed the bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, and juice that were floating around in his mouth before answering, "I'll think about it."

Harry and Ginny grinned as they looked up at the staff table. They knew at least four of the teachers would remember the Marauders. The reactions of Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick would surely be very different from one another.

Harry then glanced over at the Slytherins, all of them in bad moods. He would be, too, if someone had charmed his entire common room to be pink and fluffy. Harry then gazed up, and was happy to note the entire owlery collection of owls was fluttering in, each carrying something red.

They flew to each student, who grimaced at the Howler the owl dropped off. Anxious to see why everyone had gotten a Howler, the entire student body ripped theirs open and leaned back, waiting for the explosion. It didn't come…

Harry casually opened his Howler, unleashing a large voice booming throughout the hall.

"GOT YA!"

Most students had relaxed and began to laugh at the fake Howler, making them more startled when the booming voice ran across the Hall. The Howler then spoke:

"THE NEXT GENERATION OF MARAUDERS HAS COME TO HOGWARTS! BEWARE, AND DON'T GET ON THEIR BAD SIDE!"

Harry and Ginny didn't realize how loud hundreds of Howlers would be. They had lowered the volume, but, in their haste that morning, had forgotten to calculate the volume that would be produced.

For several minutes, students were shouting to each other, wondering who and what the new Marauders were. Slowly, everyone's hearing came back, and the Hall resumed its normal chatter, but all chatter was of Marauders.

Ron and Hermione immediately looked up at Harry and Ginny after the Howler had stopped. Hermione's eyebrows were furrowed. "Harry, has all this been your doing?"

Harry feigned innocence and said, "Hermione…how…why…what would make you say that?"

Ron was grinning madly. "Maybe because about ten people in this Hall know who the Marauders were, and six of them haven't done anything, obviously. So, it is probably you two, or the twins." Ron glanced down the table a ways.

Fred and George were gazing admiringly at Harry and Ginny. They walked over, grabbed the couple, and pulled them away. "Ok, nice work…my ears are still ringing. When and how did you do this?"

Harry spoke up. "We woke early this morning, went and got all the owls, and tied a bunch of Howlers to their legs."

"That doesn't explain how you got hundreds of Howlers out, and how they sounded the exact same."

"A simple duplicating and protean charm did the trick."

The twin's mouths dropped. "Those are spells learned in our year," George said.

"Yea…well, Gin and I had some motive to learn them…"

Fred turned to George and said, "You know, brother, I think we'll be glad we came back this year…after all, we may learn some useful spells for some products."

George nodded, and together, the twins walked off. Ginny shook her head and walked back to the table, where Professor McGonagall was passing out the time tables.

Harry walked back in time to hear Ron groan. "Ugh…awful Monday. Terrible. History of Magic, double Potions and DADA with the toad, and Divination after lunch."

Ginny then groaned. "Mine's not much better. Double DADA, Muggle studies, Potions and History of Magic."

Harry smiled. "That means the other days will be good then. Hey Gin," he said as the bell rang, "meet me before potions outside?"

Ginny nodded and they head their different ways after she left a peck on his cheek.

Professor Binns. It was a rather lame subject to have taught by the man…ghost. He droned on for an hour and a half. Harry gave up trying to sit still and listen, so he decided to play a game of hangman with Ron and listen, instead.

Harry had already read much of Giant wars, but it was new to him because these wars were more recent, so it caught some of his attention. By the end of class Hermione was huffing about, glaring at the two.

"How would it be," she said, after the bell had rung, "if I didn't lend my notes to you this year."

"You would feel guilty that we failed our exams and go on hating yourself for your entire life."

Harry thought for a moment before answering. "How about you just give your notes to Ron…I think I got it fine."

"How could you possibly? You were playing hangman the whole time!"

"I, Hermione, have a good memory. Go on, ask me a question."

"Fine," she huffed as she got out a roll of notes. "What year did Gurg Bone Hammer of the Hawatian tribe cease battle with Gurg Chistlefaw of the Lertinog tribe?"

"1374."

"…" Hermione then threw her bag over her shoulder and stormed off.

"Nice one, mate. Did you see her notes?"

"No…I remembered."

Ron frowned.

The trio met back up in the dungeons outside of Snape's room. Hermione had gotten over what anger and disapproval she felt towards the boys and they discussed what Snape would have in store for them. They decided it would be very difficult.

They sat down and waited for the billowing of robes before—"Before we begin today's lesson, I think it necessary to remind you that come June you will all be sitting a very important examination. Moronic as most of you are, I expect all of you to get at least an 'acceptable' on your test.

Neville visibly and audibly gulped as Snape's gaze lingered on him.

"I will only take the best into N.E.W.T.S., so I expect all of you wishing to continue to get and 'outstanding.' But we have another year before that happy farewell," he looked at Harry as he said this, and Harry merely looked back, amused. "So without any further ado," he waved his wand at the board, and instructions instantly popped up.

Harry smiled. Harry had made this same potion over the summer. The Draught of Peace. Snape continued, "Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at O.W.L.—Potter what are you grinning at?" For he had just seen Harry smiling at the board. Snape's lip curled into a sneer. "Would you care to tell us what this is then?"

"Sure, Professor. This potion is the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: If we are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so we need to play close attention to what we are doing." On Harry's left Hermione tore her admiring gaze off Harry and sat up straighter in her chair.

Snape's sneer had turned into a disfigured face of surprise and loathing. Harry asked, "Right, Professor?"

Snape cleared his throat, "Potter is, somehow, correct. Get to work."

As the students got up to get the ingredients, Ron whispered into Harry's ear, "That was brilliant, mate. He shut up in a hurry, didn't he?"

Hermione then commented, "Any other teacher would've given fifteen points for that."

Harry just smiled and went to work. During a point in time where he could relax for a few minutes, Harry got out his homework from Binns and finished it over the next hour and a half during sporadic breaks in the mixing.

"A light silver vapor should be rising from your potions," called Snape, with ten minutes left to go.

Harry glanced up from his finished essay and saw the vapor, rising perfectly from his cauldron.

Snape walked in between the students, checking their potions. He stopped at Harry's with the same surprised and loathing expression on his face. Harry raised his eyebrows at the oversized bat.

"Five points at for your attitude Potter." Then he waited for Harry's retort, which always came. It didn't. Harry made sure to hold his tongue until after class. He was rewarded by making Snape angrier as he turned with his robes flipping behind him.

"Fill one flagon of your potion and place it on my desk marked."

"Oh that was brilliant again, Harry. You made him so angry it was great." Ron had just finished telling the story for Ginny.

"So, Gin," Harry started. "How was DADA?"

"Awful. I got detention for a week."

"What? Why?"

"Well, she told the class we weren't going to do any wandwork the entire year, and we got into a huge argument and I ended up telling her she was a git and you weren't a liar and she should go to—"

Harry stopped her by placing his lips gently against hers. Ron immediately looked away, disgusted. Harry pulled back. "That's sweet, Gin, but you don't have to get in trouble for me."

"It's no big deal. I'm just mad I won't get to spend any time with you this week as a result."

Harry smiled again. Hermione, however, asked, "No wandwork?"

Ginny shook her head, angry again as the memory came back to her.

"Just get as much work done now, so we will have time together."

"I've already finished what I do have." The bell rang, and Harry had to race with Ron and Hermione to make it to Umbridge's room.

To say that the class tested Harry's emotions would be a vast understatement. He was fit to burst out laughing anytime now. The class was arguing over the importance of learning how to defend oneself. Harry didn't understand how stupid people could be. Fudge and Umbridge. If you said their last name initials one after the other it made sense.

After fitting to burst from laughter, Harry felt pity. He could laugh, because he wouldn't learn much more than he already knew from fifth year schooling, but the others had no where near the amount of skill he had. He realized something had to be done about this.

Next, he was angry. Hermione had brought up the fact that even if Voldemort _wasn't_ back, many of his old Death Eaters had escaped. Umbridge clearly stated that she was a silly, little girl and the discussion was at its end. "Now open up your copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard."

Hermione silently opened her copy, and Ron, fuming, opened his as well. Harry had already read the book, the moment Mrs. Weasley brought it back from Diagon Ally, he had read all of the books. It was quite boring reading, but he was thankful for it now.

"Mr. Potter, you've been oddly quiet. Why are you not reading?"

"Oh, I already finished the book."

Umbridge smiled awfully, apparently happy about something. "Really?"

"Would I lie?" Harry asked coolly.

"Well, you have been known to…" she replied in a sickly sweet voice.

Harry shut his eyes and counted to ten before Umbridge interrupted him. "What is on Chapter fifteen then?"

Harry stared at her, feeling bored. "Wilbert discusses how counter jinxes are really just jinxes."

Umbridge seemed to be fighting being impressed. Harry continued, "He says that they really have no difference, but that we give them different names so we can classify and feel more superior when we use a counter jinx. The tilting of the wand and more complex incantation that make a counter jin—"

"Ok, I get it! Quit interrupting the class reading!"

Harry smiled and got out his parchment and did his Potions homework.

Ginny laughed as they ate lunch. She enjoyed Harry putting the toad in her place. "Oh," she said, "I didn't tell you the best part. So she sent me to McGonagall to tell her how I had been acting. When I got to her office, she offered me a biscuit!"

"What?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. Then she gave me a lecture on how we need to lay low, and don't let the ministry catch wind of anything they could find excuse to alter. Then when I refused another biscuit she told me to not be silly, and sent me out with another biscuit."

Harry managed to gasp out, between breaths, "Nice. I used to think Dumbledore was the strangest, but I think I have him figured out, so now it's time to see what makes McGonagall tic."

"Studying other girls, huh, Potter?" Ginny said, faking hurt.

"Well, you know me. I can't get enough," he said with a shrug, earning him a smack on the arm. "Just kidding, Gin. You know I—"

He had almost said it. He wanted to say it. He had never said it before. It had never been said to him before, at least not that he could remember. _You know I love you_.

Luckily, all of these thoughts had swum through his head in a matter of milliseconds, and he was able to finish, without much hesitation, "only have eyes for you."

Ginny smiled at him and went back to eating her lunch.

Ron went to Divination; Hermione and Harry went to Arithmancy. Hermione had talked to Harry about Arithmancy all over summer since he mentioned he would be taking it instead. He was actually a little ahead of Hermione excluding the stuff that had been introduced in the last thousand years. Luckily for Harry, it was just the basics taught in third and fourth year, which meant he didn't miss much modern knowledge.

The class went exceptionally well, and Harry enjoyed the smaller amount of students taking the class. Hermione felt glad she once again knew more, but Harry pointed out that he had used it before, in helping make Remus a potion. "Maybe, if we get time, Hermione, we could find a cure to Lycanthropy," he said as they went through the portrait

Hermione perked up. "That is one of my thoughts of what I want to do for my career!"

Harry raised his eyebrows, "Find the cure for the transformation of man to wolf?"

"No!" she said exasperatedly, laughing. "I might want to be an alchemist, or a spell creator, or something."

By this time, they had reached where Ron and Ginny were sitting. "What do you want to do, Ron?"

Ron looked up at Hermione. "I don't know…although," he all but whispered. "It would be cool…to be an…Auror."

Harry agreed. "Yea, it would."

Ron hastily added, "But they're like…the elite, ya know?"

Ginny broke in, for the first time. "Harry, do you really think you want to be an Auror after," she quieted, "all this is over. Won't you be tired, I mean, of fight the dark?"

Harry thought for a moment. It was him, being an Auror. It was his personality. He knew it was a little weird, but he liked being there to help people. He finally answered, "yea...I might be tired of it, but…it's just who I am. I can't think of anything else."

Hermione suddenly got angry about something, and she dragged Ron off to take care of something. "It looks like she noticed their notice on the board for recruiting testers," Harry said, laughing. "Hey, Gin, what do you want to be?"

"Oh, well…I haven't thought about it much. I know, that eventually…I…"

"What?" Harry really wanted to know…he could see himself with her after all.

"I would like to have a job…but I think, eventually, I'd like to just be a mum. I love being in a big family, even if it is crowded, and sometimes not fun…and I know it would be a whole lot worse without Mum home all the time."

Harry smiled. "Yea," he spoke more to himself than Ginny. "A big family would be great."

"Oh, Merlin…I've got to go to Umbridge after Dinner."

"We have a while before then, you know?"

Emerging from a broom closet on the third floor, the happy couple made their way down to dinner, and ate happily before went to do her detention with Umbridge.

Harry finished up his Arithmancy homework, listened to Ron complain about Trelawney and then bicker with Hermione before the two went up to bed.

It was late, no one was left inn the Common Room, when Ginny returned. She was angry, and absently rubbing her right hand.

"Hey Gin," it startled her; she hadn't seen Harry sitting by the fire. "What'd she make you do?"

"Oh…just lines."

"What's wrong with your hand?"

"What? Nothing," She said too quickly. Harry just raised his eyebrows. "She…had me use…a blood quill."

Harry's eyes darkened, and he transformed into his phoenix form, disappeared in a mix of flame.


	12. A New Target

Thanks for all your great reviews. It's very rewarding to receive them. Hopefully this decently quick one will make up for the long delay before.

* * *

Chapter 12: A New Target

Harry's first thought was to go to Umbridge and teach her a lesson. It certainly would make him feel better. A blood quill, really. However, Harry decided to be a little more rational, and he went straight to Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said. He was turned around, attending to a newly born Fawkes. He continued without turning around. "I told Professor McGonagall today that Professor Snape really should consider keeping the pink hair. I must say it looked rather dashing. And the strangest thing…new Marauders, I wonder who they—"

Dumbledore turned around, and saw that Harry was not in the mood for fun. "What is it?"

"Are you aware that Professor Umbridge has given Ginny detention for a week and—"

Dumbledore seemed relieved and broke in, "Ah, yes. Professor McGonagall informed me on this. Some devotion she has to you. I must tell you there is not much I can do about these detentions."

"You mean you know she had Ginny use a blood quill?" Harry asked incredulously.

Dumbledore's face immediately turned stern. "I was not aware of this." Dumbledore sat down and pulled out a parchment and began writing on it.

"Professor, please stop me before I go and do something I will regret…well I might not regret doing it, but the consequences I will regret."

"Harry, don't worry. I am sure I can use this to our advantage. I hope that the Wizengamot will take action on this, regardless of Fudge's incompetence. The detentions will stop, whether the Wizengamot stops her or not. I will not allow unnecessary harm to come to my students while at Hogwarts."

Harry took that as his invitation to leave. "Thank you, Professor."

Dumbledore looked up, and before Harry left, he said with a light smile, "I think the Marauders will be targeting someone new….I do hope they do a good job…"

Harry smiled before he left in a burst of flames.

"HARRY POTTER WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Easy, Gin. I just took care of—"

"Don't give me that! What did you do to her?"

"Nothing yet…but if you help me, I'm sure we can think of something great to get back at her."

"Where did you go then?" Ginny asked, but she looked much more relaxed.

"Dumbledore's office. He's taken care of it. No more detentions, and possibly a suspension on her part."

Ginny's brow furrowed, but she left it at that. "Well, I'm tired so I'm going to—"

"What are you two doing?" Ron had come down, and was asking in a rather insinuating tone.

Harry just smiled, and noticed Hermione, too, had come down from the girls' rooms. "Nothing, Ginny just got back from detention. Umbridge made her use a blood quill."

Ginny's brow was still furrowed; then Harry picked up her hand and ran his fingers across it soothingly. "It doesn't hurt anymore, Harry."

"I'm sure…"

Hermione broke in, "So what are we going to do about her?"

"I was thinking we could actually turn her into a toad…and make it so she—" Harry started.

"No, about her lessons. No one is going to learn anything, and unlike you, Harry, most people aren't geniuses. They wouldn't be able to stop one Death Eater all together, let alone a group of them."

Ron picked up after this. "What we need is someone to teach us, you know, a bunch of us that know what's going on, and know we need to be prepared."

"If you're talking about Lupin, I doubt he'll be able to—"

"No, no," Hermione broke in. "Someone who knows a lot, who has been there. Someone who is always here."

"Dumbledore is _far_ to busy to—"

Ginny interrupted, in a rather bored voice, she said, "You, Harry."

Harry opened his mouth, but nothing came out. So Hermione took the opportunity to speak. "Yes, think about it. You know more than anyone except Dumbledore, probably. You don't exactly have a full schedule. You had your work done before we finished class…"

"Now, see here…I can't teach. No one would listen, they all think I'm a—"

"That," Ron interrupted, "is why we get the ones that believe you. You heard Seamus. It's scary. They need you, mate."

"And you can teach, Harry. You taught Ron, Ginny, and me all summer. It'll be easy for you. You're a born leader."

Harry looked down at Ginny for support, but she was merely smiling. "They're right, Harry. If you want our generation to be prepared…you are the one that will ensure it."

This, more than anything, convinced Harry to give in. "Alright…but we'll need a place, to keep it secret from that toad, whom I still want to turn into a toad by the way. Also, you can only tell those you _completely _trust. And they can only tell those they trust entirely. I'll talk to Dumbledore tomorrow to see if we have his ok."

"Look at this," Ron said. "He's already taking the initiative."

"Yea, yea…it's late, go to bed."

Harry kissed Ginny and went upstairs, already planning lessons in his head.

* * *

"So, you think you can manage it?" Harry asked the twins the next morning.

"It took us weeks to get it before…I think it will take longer to do a full one," George said uncertainly.

"Listen, I don't mean to be prideful, but if you give me a start, I'm sure we could get it by the weekend." Harry wanted desperately to get back the Cardigan Queen. So with the knowledge that by the end of the week something would be done, Harry walked happily with Ron and Hermione to Transfiguration.

"Welcome to your fifth year Transfiguration class," Professor McGonagall started, "and also your O.W.L. testing year." Hermione sat up straight to listen to more warnings and promises of the future. Harry slumped back in his seat and tuned her out, thinking of Ginny.

"Potter! Please pay attention. Unless you can already perform a Vanishing Spell?"

"Oh, sure," Harry said as he waved his wand and muttered the incantation. The class gasped, and for once, the stern professor looked surprised. The snail had disappeared completely, leaving no trace of its existence.

"Well…ten points to Gryffindor." By the end of the class Hermione was the only other that was able to do the spell, the Ron had said hopefully that his looked a bit paler. The whole class, excluding Harry and Hermione, was given homework.

Charms went over much of the same way. They reviewed summoning charms after a boring lecture from the small man that was Professor Flitwick. When it came to Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid didn't give much of an O.W.L. lecture, but took them to the bowtruckles straight away and began to teach.

"That was a really good lesson," Hermione said, walking away from Hagrid's cabin looked very happy. She and Harry had earned over seventy points that day alone. Some of the fourth years were coming from the green houses, including Ginny and Luna. Ginny was covered head to foot in dirt and soil, but laughing her head off.

Harry walked up to her, looked her up and down, and said, "Hey, beautiful, I think you got a little smudge of dirt on your face." That earned a smack on his arm, leaving a handprint of dirt on his robes. "What happened?" Harry waved his wand over her robes and she was instantly cleaned up.

"Luna thought it would be fun to put the Fronicus _completely _under the surface. Little did we know, it doesn't just pop its head up…it practically blew the whole pot up. I happened to be standing right next to it when it did."

They laughed all the way to lunch.

After an interesting Herbology class, and a chess game, at which Harry still couldn't get the better of Ron, and some nice _alone_ time with Ginny, Harry decided it was time to go to Dumbledore.

This time, he flamed to the outside of Dumbledore's office, and felt around with his mind to make sure no one was inside before knocking on the Gryffindor knocker. "Enter."

"Ah, Harry, I hope you have more pleasant news for me this time."

Harry grinned, "It all depends on whether or not you think it will be pleasant."

"I suppose…"

"Well…Yesterday I had such a _wonderful_ time in Defense class. Hermione and Ron couldn't agree more…and let's just say Ginny wants to end her teaching more than most."

"Yes?"

"Well, after coming back last night, from our talk, the three of them convinced me that our generation will be terribly lacking in proper defense knowledge, thus putting them at a major disadvantage should any trouble find them."

"Go on."

"So…being the great friends they are, they volunteered me as a teacher in a…club, to help prepare the students. Now…It is quite obvious to me that we must keep this a secret from the great Professor Umbridge; however, I felt I should ask your permission to start a secret club."

Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled merrily. "Thank you for coming to me. I think this new club will be very useful. I am curious as to where you will hold this club."

"Ah, but there were two reasons I came here. For there happen to be four people who know more than Marauders, and the new Marauders for that matter. Godric? Have any suggestions?"

Dumbledore whirled around to the four portraits behind him. The man in question grinned at Harry. "There is a room…"

* * *

"We're all set. Seventh floor, across the hall from Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach those trolls to bailey dance or something. I suppose we will be meeting on Friday at Seven."

Hermione beamed at him. "Ok, we've got a few people who have graciously accepted the idea."

Ron shifted nervously on his feet, looking out the common room window. Before Harry could ask what Ron was nervous about, Angelina Johnson came up to Harry. "Harry, we've got quidditch tryouts next week, and I want the whole team there to look for the two new recruits."

"Two? I thought only Wood left," Harry asked confusedly.

Angelina sighed. "No…Alicia said, 'I've got to get my priorities straight.' After all, it is N.E.W.T. year, you can't really blame her." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"So one keeper, and a chaser, then?" Harry glanced over at the youngest Weasley's.

"Indeed, next Wednesday…be there."

Harry turned once again to the two red heads. "So, will there be four Weasley's on the team this year?"

Ginny smiled and nodded, but Ron stared at the ground. "Ron? You've got to try out. You were brilliant at the Burrow. Not quite up to Wood's level, honestly, but with time I know you could be."

"Thanks, we'll see what happens then."

The dark clouds overhead and the rumbling that awoke Harry Friday morning could not be a good omen. But, seeing as how Harry ditched Trelawney's for (in his and Hermione's opinion) a much better class, he didn't think twice about the weather as the day wore on.

6:30 found Harry and Ginny walking by a door thinking very hard on the words, _we need a place to learn defense, where no one can find us._

After the third passing of the bare wall, a door appeared. Harry turned the beautifully crafted gold knob and swung the mahogany door wide. Ginny gasped beside him. It was, perhaps, because Harry had an image of the Chamber thousands of feet below him in his head. Or, the room saw it fitting to make a very close replicate of the room at which Harry spent so much of his time the previous summer.

"Looks familiar, huh?"

"Yea…no bed and bath, though…pity…" Indeed, instead of a living area, there was a dueling stage, very similar to the one in the great hall during the dueling club in Harry's second year.

"Quite. So how many people are coming, you haven't given me a straight answer."

"About thirty." Harry blinked twice and walked to the library.

Fifteen minutes later, Ron and Hermione came in. Hermione instantly walked over to the books where Harry was. "Harry, are these the same as the ones in your training room?"

"Nope, they are nice and new. These could be helpful. Oh, and Hermione…how many people are going to be here?"

Hermione shifted nervously. Harry decided to have some fun. "Because any more than ten, and I am not going to do this…There is no way can teach even ten…let alone if there were like…oh I don't know, thirty or something."

Hermione looked up, wide eyed. Harry looked at her. "How many?"

"There are…well, just a few people we talked to…"

"A few…oh well, ok, because I would have walked out if you said 'about thirty.'"

"Oh, Harry you have to do it, you are the only one who can."

Harry feigned confusion. "I already said I would, Hermione."

"There are thirty-ish, Harry…please, you _have_ to do it. It's the best way to get back at Umbridge." Hermione was now pleading, and Harry took pity on her.

"I already knew there were thirty, I was just messing with you." While Hermione was hitting his arm, Harry continued, "I also don't think this is the best way to get back at her…tomorrow, some things will be finished up…and I can't wait for Monday…it will be…never mind."

Hermione turned around huffing as a few people filed in. By seven, twenty-seven people were gathered in the sitting area. Harry knew the majority quite well; however, there were a few students that Harry didn't know. Harry stood up and cleared his throat.

"Welcome to the Room of Requirement, and to our first meeting. I'm sure all of you know this is a group to learn defense because we, unlike Umbridge, know what is lurking outside of the safety of these walls. Voldemort—" There was a collective gasp from the crowd, and Harry closed his eyes and plowed through. "—Is back, and he will become known very soon. He has already shown signs that the ministry has turned a deaf ear to.

"As I was saying, we are here to learn defense because said ministry has seen fit to not teach us anything of great importance. I do not know how great of a teacher I will be, but I'm sure we can work together to become the best we can be. Hermione, you wanted some time?"

Hermione shuffled nervously to the front of the crowd, and spoke in a soft voice, "We should thing up a name, to make it…unofficially official."

Everyone was quiet at first, but as soon as Fred and George had shouted 'Breath Eaters' and 'Hogwarts Hurters,' people began shouting reasonable names. Finally everyone stopped when Cho Chang shouted, "Defense association…the DA for short when we are talking in public."

Several nods, but then Ginny said, "I like the DA…but how about Dumbledore's Army? He is, in my opinion the leader of the good side, after all."

More people nodded and there were several shouts of agreement. Hermione called for a vote, and it was unanimous. "So we are the DA or Dumbledore's army," she said as she wrote the name on the paper.

She sat down and Harry stood back up. "Any questions?"

Once again everyone was quiet until Zacharias Smith gathered the courage to speak. "How are we supposed to know you can teach us."

"I already talked abou—" Harry instantly didn't like this guy, but before he knew it, he was interrupted, and no longer in the conversation.

Ginny loudly called back at him, "Did you not listen to what he was saying, besides, can you question Harry Potter? Do you know what he has done?"

"Gin, plea—" Harry started, but he was, indeed, out of the conversation.

"First year," Ron said, "you've all heard renditions of what happened, but ultimately, he took out you-know-who and the defense teacher to save an object that would've brought back you-know-who."

Ginny spoke up again. "Second year. Despite people thinking he was the Heir of Slytherin," Here, she looked at several people pointedly, "he got past the criticism, some of which he faces again, now, and stopped the monster that was running loose on all the muggle-borns."

Cho, of all people, spoke next, "Not to mention winning a tournament that was designed to be very difficult for seventh years."

By this time, Harry had stopped trying to interfere with the conversation. Hermione then blurted out, "He learned how to conjure a Patronus in third year." Several people gasped at this and turned to Harry.

"Well, thank you. You must know I had a lot of help with all that…I mean, it sounds great when you say it like that, but…Listen, I'm not that great ok?"

Zacharias once again spoke up. How can our leader be so unsure of himself, going on about how he can't fight."

Harry smiled. "Oh, Zacharias, right? Well, I said I may not be able to teach, and I'm not that great…I never said I couldn't fight."

"I'm sure; you're just trying to sound big now that I called you out on it."

Ginny was now grinning as well. "Hey Harry…How about we have a duel to show them what to expect at the end of the year. You versus who…Zacharias?"

The boy in question was now looking very nervous. However, it seemed he either wanted proof very badly or he wouldn't back down, because he stood up and said, voice cracking, "Alright."

"Would you like a formal duel on the stage or in the dome?"

He gulped and pointed to the stage.

Harry smiled again. "That sounds good. No permanent damaging spells, and no pointless pain. Alright?"

Zacharias nodded as they made their way to the raised platform. Harry stood on the opposing side and bowed to his opponent. "Count us off there, Zach."

"One…T-two…th—thr—three." Zacharias began shooting spells as rapidly and sporadically as he could. He wasn't very good.

Harry began merely blocking spells with his shield. He smiled again and began teaching as he dueled. "_Protego_ can be a very—_protego—_useful spell that, if cast—_protego—_correctly, can block just—_protego—_about any levels one through six—_protego—_spells."

Harry then began moving from side to side, up and down, and any direction to dodge the spells. "It is important to be able to read direction of spells carefully because many will not be blockable with a simple _protego_."

Harry then went on the offense. "_Stupefy_," he said as he cast the spell, "is the most common, easiest, but weakest stunner. It is a shame that Zacharias went down on it…"

And he had. The stunner hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to fall with a thump to the stage floor.

As Harry walked over to the still figure, he said, "Many death eaters can withstand a simple _stupefy_ if it is weak, and it is very difficult to get the spell through _any_ shield, weak or strong. _Enervate_ is a common awakening charm, though it would need to be strong to wake any of the stronger stunners." Zacharias had been awakened when Harry said the incantation. "So?"

"Ok…you're good."

Harry turned to the group. Most of their mouths were hanging open, excepting Ginny's, who was trying unsuccessfully not to laugh, and was doubled on the floor clutching her sides. This made Harry smile once again. Ron and Hermione had knowing looks and were also smiling at the situation.

"I don't know where you got the idea you couldn't teach, Harry." George, who was between impressed and amused, was soon backed by the rest of the DA.

"Ok, good. We have less than ten minutes left, so let's agree on the next time."

After juggling quidditch practices, other clubs, and duties, they decided on the time Slytherin had their quidditch practice. Because the time would always be changing, Harry decided they would have to be notified. "Next week, I will have a way of telling you when each meeting will be from then on. Until then, think of anything you feel we will need to cover, I'll take suggestions."

Soon, it was only Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Harry who were left. "Oh you did great, Harry," Hermione said. "We will need to bind everyone to a contract as well, so if they rat us out, we can tell."

"I was thinking the Protean Charm would be useful for telling everyone when to meet," Harry said thoughtfully.

"I got it! I'll take care of it. You worry about teaching." She then ran from the Room of Requirement muttering under her breath.

Ron sighed. "She's never going to stop doing that, is she, mate?"

Harry smiled and said, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Before he could stop himself, Ron said, "That's for sure, she great the way she is." He then realized what he had said and turned red and walked out the door without looking back.

Ginny started giggling at her brother's antics, and Harry interrupted her. "You do realize, Miss Weasley, we have a room that becomes whatever we want all to ourselves."

Ginny got a mischievous smile. "I do realize this Mr. Potter. What are you suggesting we do about it?"

"I've got a couple ideas," he said, kissing her softly.

Several minutes later, the couple sat down on the couch. "So, Gin, have you been working on your mind exercises?"

"I can tell when you are around, and my family…but everything else is just a jumbled mess. When we came here, everything went haywire. I can't focus on anything outside of the castle."

Harry nodded. "I was the same way, but I'm a little more used to it now; it just takes time, Gin."

Ginny shifted on Harry's lap so she could kiss him, and then she said, "You really did a good job today, Harry."

"Thanks…actually, I figured something out today." He continued with Ginny's intrigued expression. "An Auror isn't the only thing I can see myself doing. I would enjoy teaching at Hogwarts…it's the first home I've ever had, and I feel like I should give something back to it somehow."

Ginny smiled up at Harry. "You know, I think that is a great idea. Who knows…maybe I'll get a job here…and we'll still be together."

Harry didn't think twice before he said, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

The next morning, Harry and Ginny snuck up to the seventh year dormitory. Seven minutes and sixteen seconds later, they came out with Fred and George. When they reached the common room, Harry said, "We can use the Room of Requirement."

The four Marauders walked to the seventh floor, and opened the door that appeared for them. There was a potions lab, several books, and countless ingredients.

"Let's get to work," Harry said. So they set out to finish the job Harry and the twins had been working on all week.

About twenty minutes in, Harry suggested a different route to take to the twins. Fred looked up at Harry and said, "You know, that will probably work…cut our time by a good deal, that will."

They spent the greater part of the morning there, and by the end, they had figured it out. George said casually, "What happened to Mum will be nothing compared to this. Anyway…When are we going to go to the kitchens to get the first step done?"

"Tonight," both Harry and Ginny said.

So, they made their way down to the kitchens that night, tickled a fruit, and walked through a passageway. At the bottom of the stairs, Harry was tackled by an elf. "Master Potter has come to see Dobby!"

Dobby began bouncing around the kitchens, telling all of the other House Elves that Harry had come to visit. Harry interrupted him by saying, "Dobby, I need your help."

Dobby stopped bouncing, and looked, wide eyed up at Harry. "Master Potter is requesting Dobby's help, sir?" Harry nodded, and Dobby beamed up at him. "Whatever you asks, sir."

"We need Professor Umbridge's food to include a cup of this potion on Monday."

Dobby quickly shuddered. "We's not supposed to harm anyone…It is against the rules. Even if Madam Umbridge is an evil woman."

"Oh, Dobby…Don't worry. You won't be harming her. It's just a bit of fun…The headmaster told me to do this."

Dobby's face then broke into a grin Harry had never seen on his face before. "Well, then…that be ok, then. Dobby will make sure Master Potter's job is being completed, sir."

Harry thanked him and led the others out the kitchen. "Harry," George started. "Did Dumbledore really tell you to do this?"

"Not in those words…I believe he said, 'I think the Marauders will be targeting someone new….I do hope they do a good job…'"

"Wicked," said Fred looking over at his twin and at Ginny. "He has to be the coolest Professor here. One time, he caught us down here at midnight, and he thanked us for making the house elves happy…then he went and asked them for more lemon drops…"

Harry smiled, and suddenly he felt something in his mind. He looked to his left, and saw no one, but he knew Dumbledore was standing there, invisible, so he grinned in the general direction.

Before Harry could do anything about it, the weekend came to a close and Monday morning was upon him. It was agreed that the prank would be pulled during Harry's class, and Ginny and the twins would get out of class somehow to be present.

Harry looked up at the staff table and prayed Dobby hadn't backed out. The morning passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry stopped short at the door and peered inside. She was not in at the moment.

Harry did some improve pranking and crossed the hallway to a suit of armor and cast several spells on it, muttering words under his breath. He then went into the classroom and sat next to Ron and Hermione.

"What is this…what are you doing?" Shouting came from just outside the door, and everyone leaned in their seats to see the commotion.

A deep voice filled with creaks echoed through the halls. "Please, I love you, Professor. Don't turn away from me! What do the others have that I don't? THEY AREALL SUITS! EVERY ONE OF THEM! I can give you so much more." The suit of armor was on its knees pleading at Professor Umbridge, blocking her way in.

"What is the meaning of this? Get out of my way!"

"Don't…please…" The suit of armor had bent down low, groveling at the toad.

Umbridge took out her wand, and the suit of armor moved slowly out of the way. The professor walked into the room which had quieted almost instantly, but the students were still trying to hide snickers unsuccessfully.

"Take out your books and turn to chapter 2 and read it silently," she said in an exasperated voice.

She went to her desk and sat down, but looked up as Harry raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"

Harry was sure every eye was on Professor Umbridge so he wordlessly activated the potion.

The class gasped, stood silent, and then burst out laughing hysterically as their professor was changed into a large, oversized toad. It was as if a toad had fallen into an enlarging potion.

The toad seemed surprised by the sudden outburst and made to reprimand the students when a load croak was heard over the laughter. It seemed strange to Harry, that a toad would be surprised by its own noise…but even more strange was that the toad looked down to find itself a toad and let out an _astonished _croak.

The toad then hopped off the chair at professor Umbridge's desk and hopped towards the door and disappeared from view. Shortly after, a deep voice was once again heard. "I don't care what they've done to you! Don't you see I love you…If anything you look better, anyway! Look me in the visor and tell me you don't love me! Please come back, I will feed you…"

The soft sound of a hopping, croaking sound followed by a creaking, clunking noise disappeared slowly down the hall.

Everyone except Harry was laughing. He walked outside the door to find the other Marauders standing there openmouthed. Ginny spoke first. "Not only did our potion work, but that armor bit was genius, Harry!"

Harry grinned as the twins offered their own praise. "Suit was stunning. Potion worked great…Mum just turned a bit into the penguin…This, a full transformation…and the croaking too…ahh…"

"She headed off to the hospital wing. Colin will be able to tell us what happens there—that was my excuse to get out of potions. I _accidentally_ spilled some potion on Colin. I almost had to carry him there…I barely got here in time for this. Glad I didn't miss it, though."

"I'll see you all at lunch, then," Harry said and turned back into the room from whence the toad came.

"Harry! You did that…how could you attack a teacher?" Hermione was whispering urgently, but Harry knew she just wanted to know how to make the potion.

Ron merely looked at Harry with awe. "That…was…"

Hermione interrupted. "Bloody brilliant? Wicked? Is every prank pulled brilliant and wicked, Ron?"

"No…Just ones pulled on Umbridge and Slytherins," Ron stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry was glad for the distraction from himself as the two argued relentlessly until the bell sounded, signaling time for lunch.

News of the Toad Trick, as it became known, traveled like lightening. It was the topic of conversation for all of lunch. Harry gazed up at the staff table. Dumbledore, smiling broadly, was talking to a very stiff McGonagall who seemed like it was taking all of her strength not to also laugh heartily. She was, indeed, smiling, however, and Harry always took this as a sign that the prank was truly magnificent.

Snape…never before had Harry seen Snape try to not smile. He sneered, and smirked, yes, but that is not the same thing as a true smile. His face seemed to contort and twist at odd times, as he struggled to contain a small smile from appearing.

It was apparent, by the jubilation of the staff table, that none of the teachers liked Umbridge at all. The abhorrence was probably only rivaled by the detestation of the arrogant and ignorant Gilderoy Lockhart, or in Snape's case, Remus Lupin.

Dumbledore turned his body to face Harry, and he held up his hands and applauded visibly in the Marauder's direction. He mouthed the words, 'James would be proud.' He paused and then mouthed, 'Lily would not.'

Harry smiled softly to himself as he bit into his treacle tart.


	13. Free Falling

Chapter 13: Free Falling

Angelina was in a Wood-like mood.

"Keepers, move to the right! Chasers, get over there! Move!"

"Ok, this year we will need to be…" Harry tuned her out as he had grown accustomed to his first three years. He glanced over at his favorite Weasley's.

Harry had taken the past week to strengthening Ginny and Ron's chances of making the team. They both performed miraculously throughout the week, but based on the morning they had had…well…Harry knew he wouldn't forget that morning very easily.

As usual, Harry had awoken at dawn. He glanced over at Ron's bed—empty. Then he heard it—the only thing less appealing would be the cold, cruel laughter of Voldemort. Harry cautiously made his way to the bathroom.

"Aw, Ron!"

Yes, it hadn't been pretty.

"I guess you won't be eating the nice, juicy omelet I went to the trouble of asking the House-elves to make for you this morning?"

Ron glared at Harry before the inevitable happened once again. The horrific noise was accompanied, this time, by the vision of a whole mess of stuff coming out of Ron's mouth—which was wide enough to allow Ron's shoe to pass through.

"That was cruel, Harry…very, very cruel," he gasped through deep, shuddering breaths.

Harry found it funny at the time…After all, he finally found out that Ron must have had a hollow leg, for all that food to be able to come out. Now, as he glanced at his best friend, he felt sorry for him.

No matter how many reassurances from Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley's, Ron still managed to believe he was the worst quidditch player in the school.

Ginny showed no sign of nervousness. She even ate all the breakfast Harry set out for her. "The way I see it, there is no point in being nervous. The only time nervousness helps is when practicing, and since this is not a practice, there is no reason to be nervous."

It didn't seem to help Ron.

"Remember the tryouts for beaters, Gred?"

"How could I forget, Forge?"

"The other two blokes never saw us coming."

"In the hospital wing for four days."

"Nearly fainted next time they saw us…"

Surprisingly, this didn't help much either.

Eventually Hermione took him aside and said some things…he seemed to have relaxed considerably. However, considering his nerves before, even the considerable relaxation only brought his nerves down to match him with the other contenders.

"Take a lap around." Harry broke out of his musings as the group of twelve rose off the ground and sped around the field.

The tryouts soon picked up the pace as the four keepers grouped in pairs and separated to the two sets of goal posts. The chasers took two quaffles and went from side to side passing the quaffles as they rotated through the line up and the each took turns shooting at the keepers.

The other keeper with Ron was first. Harry felt bad for him. Ginny was up first.

Ron was up next after a remarkable miss by the discouraged keeper. Harry could see the unease etched on Ron's face. Ron gazed at the coming chaser, and he peered down at the stands, where Hermione hadn't taken her eyes off of him and she smiled. He turned back to the oncoming chaser with a new determination in his eyes.

He saved it.

Harry smiled. He was sure the two hadn't done anything yet. Based on Ron's not so sudden questions and conversation, Harry ventured to guess Ron had been close several times to making a move on Hermione.

This caused him to think about Ginny. How had he, Harry, the person with no idea what the opposite gender thought, managed to convince Ginny to be with him, and so quickly after he realized his feelings?

He still remembered the first kiss. It had been so sudden, but neither of them regretted it happening the way it did. Somehow Harry just felt different with Ginny than, say, Cho. Harry had nothing against Cho; from what he knew about her, she was a good person who had the misfortune of a death occur. The fact that she was a good person, and quite pretty, made Harry realize Ginny was different from anyone else. He sure couldn't explain it, being as ignorant as he was, but he wouldn't change it.

Once again Harry was brought out of his reflection by another shout from Angelina.

"Harry," she called down to him from her broom twenty feet above him. "Who do you think?"

Harry smiled amusedly at her as she came down and landed. "You can't possibly be asking me this question. I'm more biased than the twins. I'd have to go with Ginny and Ron. Honestly though? My unbiased answer? Ron and Ginny."

Angelina frowned. "As much as they hated to admit it, the twins agree with you. Katie says the Lithman kid has promise, but she'd also go with Ron. Ginny is the obvious one. What broom has she got?"

"_Brush With Death_."

"Does she really? She handles it like a pro. Almost as good a flier as you, Harry."

Angelina soon decided who the new recruits would be, and the five team members walked to the anxious group.

"I want you to know there was no favoritism nor impartiality in this judgment. Having said that, we will be welcoming two more Weasley's onto the team. The rest of you did great, and if the rest of the team is anything like Potter, you may very well be likely to be asked to fill in. Thanks for coming."

The group grudgingly dissipated and Harry finally got a good view of Ron and Ginny. Ginny was smiling and walked over to Harry and kissed him. "Thanks, Harry."

Harry smiled and continued to smile as he saw Ron, who was still holding his broom tightly, mouth slightly open. Harry's smile grew broader as Hermione raced over and threw her arms around Ron.

Ron returned the hug, but about 3.8 seconds later, he realized what he was doing and quickly let go stuttering his thanks for her congratulations. Hermione also let go quickly and they had a contest for the winner of 'The Reddest Face' award.

Harry offered his congratulations to the newest team members and asked, "Ron, what do you say to that omelet?"

"I say let's go."

"Hold on a minute, I have to discuss new team strategies…"

As Harry tuned her out, he decided that yes, Angelina was in a Wood-like mood.

* * *

Life became, once again, a routine at Hogwarts. Although, Harry now had a very different perspective. Before, it seemed like he was always behind, and working on things the night before they were due. Now, he was usually done with his work before the classes were over.

As he voiced his epiphany to Ginny, she merely nodded in agreement. "Yes, everything seems so much easier this year…"

"And I thought O.W.L. year was supposed to be the worst."

Indeed, Ginny also rarely had homework to do, and as the twins didn't do any work anyway, the four could easily spend time in the Room of Requirement working on pranks. Umbridge was the favorite.

Umbridge had turned back from the toad that evening at midnight. A message was delivered to her, hoping that she used the night of beauty to get her Prince Charming, at this the suit of armor gaped and complained that he was better than whatever Prince could be.

The next day Umbridge had been fuming, interrogating every student individually. "I know it was you, Potter!" she had exclaimed.

Harry feigned confusion. "Then why on earth are you interrogating everyone else?"

"Because I want to find out who did…POTTER!" She then calmed herself down. She spoke in her overly sweet voice. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."

"What is the hard way?" Harry had asked.

Umbridge's brow furrowed. "I would have to go to the headmaster or the ministry," under her breath she muttered, "Who don't like me at the moment…" she then continued her initial thought. "Go to them, and request a permit to search you room for any proof that you did this."

Harry pondered this. "Yea, that sounds good. Let's go with the hard way."

Umbridge exploded and went to strangle Harry. Faster than he knew he could, his wand was out and he was behind the professor. "I think I'll be leaving if that's all." She nodded, quite frightened at his speed.

Yes, Umbridge was quite a bit of fun, and as he had the DA, he didn't feel bad about interrupting the useless classes.

The DA was progressing as satisfactorily as an organization could with two meetings. Hermione had come through and given them all a cleverly charmed galleon to tell them the time of the next meeting.

The group responded very well to Harry and seemed to enjoy his hands on training very much. Harry had to admit it was challenging teaching such a variety of students. He was able to break them up and move faster with some and have the other three DA founders help out.

Ginny was wonderful, and the more time they spent together, the more Harry was convinced he was in love with her. She made life at Hogwarts better than it had ever been, and that was saying a lot for Harry James Potter.

They made many trips to the Chamber to continue their advanced training. Following the quidditch tryouts, Harry took Ginny there.

"Congratulations, I got you a gift." He held out a vial containing a potion.

"What is it, Harry?"

"I seem to recall you wanting to become an animagus…no?" Ginny's face lit up.

"How do I do it? Do I just take the potion? What will I be?"

"Slow down. This will help you find what you become, and then you will have to begin the training to become the animal. I did mine extremely fast, so I bet you'll be able to do it quickly as well."

"Why is that?"

"Haven't you noticed how we…" Harry felt a blush creep up.

"What?" Ginny had a confused look in her eyes.

"I dunno, I guess we get our power from each other…sort of. We have the same skills, and—"

"Yea, Harry. I guess we do." She smiled reassuringly at Harry before snatching the potion out of his hand and downing it.

She went into a trance, and Harry waited for her to come out. When she did, she broke into a huge smile. "What are you?"

"A unicorn!"

After the initial shock, Harry gave her instructions to practice her transformation. He then left her to practice, and went to see Dumbledore.

"Sir, what are the odds of both of us being magical creatures. I don't understand."

Dumbledore, eyes twinkling madly, muttered to himself. "Simply amazing. No wonder it's happening so quickly…powerful."

He then turned his attention to Harry, whom he seemed to forget was present. "Ah, yes. Well, the odds of two people, who know each other, having magical animagi is incredibly low. However, I'm not that surprised once I think about it. You are both exponentially growing in magical reserves and power. The only explanation is that you both have more magical influence, thus the magical animagi."

Although Harry felt Dumbledore knew more than he was letting on, he let it go with that and thanked the professor and headed back to Ginny.

Indeed, as Harry had previously said, she did in fact complete the transformation as quickly as Harry had his. The two of them found out that unicorns had abilities just like the phoenix.

Similar to the phoenix, the unicorn had spectacular strength. Harry guessed Ginny could take out a giant. However, the strength was overshadowed by the sheer power coming from the horn. Harry could feel the power radiating off of it, and he estimated that one blow from the horn could go through the stone walls of Hogwarts.

However, most impressive was something only Ginny could do. She found that she could read Harry's emotions and sometimes thoughts when she looked into his piercing, emerald eyes. Harry found this a little uncomfortable at first, but didn't have anything to hide from Ginny, so he didn't mind when she sought out his eyes.

Once they had finished exercising her unicorn abilities, they returned to normal life—at least as normal as they could at Hogwarts. Pranks were a constant, and the students loved them…most of the students. Although everyone got pranked, the Marauders seemed to pick certain Slytherins as testers for the twins' products.

The twins had indeed told Harry and Ginny about their joke store plan, and Harry made sure to give as much input and help as he could. He knew that with the coming war, a good laugh would be needed, and the twins could always give that.

* * *

The weeks went by, and the leaves of the forbidden forest changed into a beautiful range of colors, and the Whomping Willow seemed to pose its new look for students as they passed by. Soon, Halloween was upon the students of Hogwarts.

"I don't know, Harry. Something bad always seems to happen on Halloween. Trolls, Mrs. Norris attacked—although that wasn't necessarily a bad thing—Sirius cut the Fat Lady's portrait, and your name was drawn out of the Goblet of Fire. That is not a good record."

"No, but I'm still here aren't I?" Harry said lightly.

Ginny frowned at him, but grabbed his hand anyway as they headed down to the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast.

Two months had passed. Harry literally could not believe it. The year had gone great so far. The downsides of the year were put aside by much better things.

The DA had met nine times, each time reminding Harry that they were going behind the moronic ministry's back, not to mention the stupid toad (who had been turned into a toad several times since the first). The group was progressing adequately, and Harry couldn't help but feel a little proud every time he watched Neville stun another student.

However, the downside to the DA was that certain students were able to spend some extra time with Harry and Ginny. A fourth year Hufflepuff had taken to following Harry around all class. Ginny had expressed her feelings toward Cassandra Cartwright after class one day. They result of this caused Harry's stomach to ache for several days due to the amount of laughter caused.

On the other hand, Ginny had a following of a sixth year, Benjamin Boothe. Ginny had been both flattered and disgusted at the boy's flirting skills. Once again, after a different DA meeting, she voiced her concerns once again. Harry decided that he would no longer have to do sit-ups every morning if Ginny continued her rants.

Quidditch. The team had no chance of losing. Ginny worked with the other two girls better than the trio of chasers ever had. No keeper would be able to contain the complete chaos the three chasers would cause.

Ron, although still not quite up to par with Oliver Wood, was getting better and better. Something seemed to have triggered in his mind, and the only reason the Quaffle ever got past him was because the chasers were so superior.

All of Harry's classes continued to be simple, and his new Arithmancy class was quite interesting. It seemed to help with the understanding of all his other subjects. Charms, hexes, curses, and jinxes were easier to cast with the knowledge of the form and structure behind them.

Harry's favorite pass time during Potions was annoying Snape without being able to be punished. Every correct question answered, potion brewed correctly, and absence of rule-breaking was shattering Snape's usual attitude. He criticized less and stayed quiet more. The grades of the entire class went up.

Now, as Dumbledore stood to address the school, Harry broke out of his reflection and squeezed Ginny's hand. She smiled up at him, causing the warm feeling it had caused since the middle of summer. He had yet to find a fault with Ginny that he didn't enjoy.

Was he in love? Harry had no idea what the word meant. He enjoyed spending time with her, more than anyone. She could always make him feel good. He couldn't imagine being with anyone else.

Yes, whatever it was he felt for Ginny Weasley, love was a good word for it.

"Another Halloween has come. The Hall has been decorated wonderfully. I especially love the giant pumpkins every year." He glanced at Hagrid who blushed, although no one could see through his mess of hair on his face. "Anyway, I would like to tell everyone there will be a Hogsmede trip in two weeks time, the Saturday after the first quidditch game. Now, tuck in!"

The Great Hall was suddenly decorated further by a wonderful feast. The students immediately began chatting about the Hogsmede trip and quidditch game as they reached for juicy meat.

Ron spoke first. "What do you want to do in Hogsmede this time, Harry?"

Harry bit his lip before saying, "I am actually going with Ginny to this one, Ron…sorry."

Ron seemed taken aback, but immediately said, "Hermione, do you still want to come with me?"

Hermione was very surprised by his invitation and accepted quickly. "Oh, of course I want to come with you, Ron."

Ron was suddenly very happy he had spoken before he thought about what he was doing. He stayed happy the rest of the night and chatted pleasantly with Hermione the whole time.

"Ron scored major points with Hermione tonight," Ginny said, as she leaned over the tower's wall, looking across the Hogwarts grounds. Harry often took Ginny up to this tower. They sometimes went there to just talk…other times they did other things.

"I'd say. If he doesn't do something at Hogsmede, I don't know what it will take to get them together. Why doesn't Hermione do anything?"

"She is just as clueless as he is. She knows she likes him, but isn't sure of his feelings."

"WHAT? How can she not be sure of his feelings…he's more obvious than you were in your first year!"

Ginny glared at him. Harry smiled innocently back. "It's my loss that I didn't clue in sooner, I suppose."

She then smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good recovery."

"So, Gin…I was right."

"About?"

"Nothing bad happening today," he said haughtily.

"The night is young, Harry, and you just jinxed us."

They sat in companionable silence for a while before Ginny got up once again. She went to her favorite spot to look off onto the grounds of Hogwarts. "This is probably the farthest fall from any point on the castle." She hoisted herself up on the wall to peer over the edge.

Her necklace that Harry got for her dangled from around her neck. As if it were jinxed, the necklace unhitched in the back and slipped off. With her quick reflexes, she whipped her hand up and caught the necklace, but not without sending a force out below her, sending the rest of her body over the edge.

Harry raced to the edge as he heard, "oh bugger" come from Ginny as she fell over the edge. Harry quickly cast a charm as he dove off the edge after her, pushing off the edge to give him more speed.

As he fell, he cast a slowing charm on Ginny, and also on himself as soon as he reached her. "Now, Ginny, you didn't just fall off to prove that something bad always happens on Halloween." He grabbed onto her and held her close as the wind rushed by.

"Of course I didn't…you are the one who jinxed us."

"So, Ginny, what's your plan?"

The couple was spinning quite freely as they fell down and down. "Well, you're the one that can turn into a phoenix," she said calmly.

"Ginny, we've been practicing opening your mind. Come now, stretch it out, what do you feel?"

Ginny closed her eyes. Suddenly she opened them, angry. "Those perverts. Benjamin and Cassandra are _spying_ on us? Omnioculars, too?"

"Indeed. Not only would they have a secret about me--" They were now well past the halfway point of the fall, "but they'd also have it recorded on those omnioculars."

Ginny was fuming. "Oh, they are going to regret this…"

"So, what's the plan?"

"Well," she said, still red with fury. "When you told me to stretch my mind, I also felt a broom racing at us, quick thinking, Harry."

As if on cue, a _Firebolt_ raced along side the couple. Harry grabbed a hold of it, keeping his firm hold on Ginny as well. He pulled out of the fast dive only moments before crashing into the ground. He pulled up, and they got seated better.

Ginny began tugging at the broom to face where the two Peeping Toms were hiding with their omnioculars.

"Easy, Gin…we'll get them tomorrow, DA meeting and what-not."

That's exactly what they did. Arriving a bit late to the room, Harry entered to find the entire group huddled around the two lovesick students. "Then, at the last possible second, a broom came and they pulled out of the best dive I've ever seen." Cassandra sighed deeply and Benjamin took over.

"Yea, and the thing is, they were calm the whole time, just talking the whole time!"

Harry and Ginny interrupted. "And just how would you know that?"

No answer. Harry raised his eyebrows. "Omnioculars. I was looking at the stars...Astronomy project. I saw motion so I looked over."

Ginny spoke up. "Funny…I am in that class with you, Cassandra…Why don't I have a project to do?"

Ben spoke up. "She was helping me with mine."

Cho gazed amusedly on. "Ben we don't—"

"So, Harry, what are we learning today?"

Harry took pity…somewhat…on them and announced. "Review day. I will come around and go against each of you to test your skills."

The group soon dissipated into pairs. Harry and Ginny walked around and took the pairs apart, testing each of them and telling them what needed work. He arrived at Ben and Cassandra. Ginny took Ben, he had Cassandra.

"Let's do _protego _first. You block my spells." Cassandra nodded, visibly gulping.

"_Stupefy!_"

She fell instantly.

After reviving her, he told her, "So, stargazing, huh?"

"_Stupefy!_"

"_Protego!_"

Harry had made the spell arc, easily avoiding the girl's pitiful shield, which wouldn't have blocked the spell even if it was a direct hit. Again he revived her. She was quite dazed this time.

Harry continued this for several minutes, all the while telling her in as nice of a way he could to back off and quit following him around. Eventually, she couldn't get up when he revived her, so he told her to go rest.

Harry glanced at Ben who was running away from strange colored bats, holding a bleeding nose. Ginny merely glared at him, not smiling in the smallest bit. Harry walked over to her, laughing. She looked over at Cassandra, who was pitifully crawling over to the couches. She broke out in a beautiful laugh, and Harry said between laughs, "I…guess they…need to…work on their…shields."

Thus ended the crush fiasco. No longer was Harry pestered by Cassandra, nor was he angered by Ben's lame attempts at attracting Ginny. After the DA meeting, Ginny and Harry celebrated.

* * *

The air continued to get colder, but just in time for the opening Quidditch game of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin a warm front moved in. The skies cleared and students happily walked out to the stands eager to watch the biggest rivalry of Hogwarts.

Harry endured a pep talk from the captain and walked with Ginny out to the field. Just before the whistle blew, Ginny gave Harry a chaste kiss saying, "For good luck."

And the match had started accompanied by the usual commentary from the twins' friend Lee Jordan. "And the Snitch is off!"

Harry floated up high, and looked behind him to see the ever present Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy had quieted down this year. Harry's threat must have jarred him, as he rarely made a derogatory comment to Harry anymore. However, in the thrill of the game, he must have forgotten his place in the fifth year at Hogwarts.

"Come now Potter. You think your broom will give you the edge you need to win?"

"Well, your broom certainly hasn't helped you against any of the other Seekers!" Harry already knew where the Snitch was. He merely wanted his team to get a lead before he tore off at it.

So he waited. It didn't take long. His assumptions about the unbeatable team were correct. In less than an hour, the Gryffindor team had escalated to the score of—

"One hundred forty to twenty…Gryffindor surely isn't a team to mess with this year. Weasley steals the Quaffel—Johnson to Bell—back to Weasley who puts in another one. One hundred fifty to twenty!"

Harry decided it was time. After throwing Malfoy off the trail several times with his Wronskie Feint, the Slytherin didn't tear after Harry as he dove into a spectacular dive. His broom was at a 90 degree angle. Suddenly the Snitch changed direction, and a Bludger was screaming at him as it slid across the field.

Harry quickly took in several calculations. He saw Fred searing after the Bludger—he would be there in time—the Snitch hadn't moved—George was below him—Harry flipped backwards off of his broom.

Harry was reminded of Halloween as he took a freefall down. The Bludger went straight into where Harry's head would've been, had he stayed on the broom. George was able to get under Harry's broom and caught it.

Meanwhile Harry was soaring down, hands stretched out as his robes billowed behind him. It was there. It still hadn't changed direction, as Harry knew—somehow he knew—it wouldn't. Harry stretched out and clasped his hands around the Snitch.

He still fell though. Fifty feet, forty, thirty, and then he felt the reassurance of Fred's arm wrap around him as they slowed the fall and landed not quite so gracefully on the Pitch.

The crowd was roaring, the team was in shock, and Malfoy looked as if he'd just swallowed the transformed Umbridge.

Fred was yelling his praise and anger at Harry, and he was quickly joined by the rest of the team. Except Ginny.

"Ginny! He could have killed himself! Don't just stand there, that was insane. Are you going to let you boyfriend almost die like that?"

Ginny shrugged. "It was a nice catch," she said lightly.

Ron started yelling. "What? How…what are you…Ginny, he could've died!"

"Nope, he's too smart for that." She reached up and pecked his cheek. "Nice catch, Harry."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Gin. What, ninety points from you alone? Simply amazing chaser skills, you three. Ron nice keeping, and twins, great beating, as usual.

"What, Potter…couldn't stay on your broom? Had to go and be the hero again didn't you? Couldn't stand to catch the Snitch like anyone else."

Harry turned around to Malfoy. "Pretty much, yea. But it was Fred who was the hero. Without him I'd be dead."

Malfoy seemed stumped by Harry's lack of concern for what he said, so the Gryffindor team joined three houses in celebrating the amazing victory over Slytherin.

The party in the Gryffindor room was one to remember. The twins used some fireworks they had been working on. The worked quite miraculously. They never seemed to end, and continued all through the night.

Harry, sick of hearing how amazing his catch was, had taken leave halfway through the party. He went to the Chamber alone, he enjoyed some alone time every now and again.

However, when he arrived, he found he was not alone.

"Sirius?"

"Ah, Harry…I hoped you'd come…"

"What's going on?"

"Can't a guy come see his Godson?"

"Yea."

"That was some amazing flying, today, Harry. Risky, but that's the way it is meant to be. I must say James would be in awe at you right now. Lily would be wondering where she went wrong."

Harry laughed. "You were there?"

"I was Dumbledore's dog. Let me tell you, he loved the game. Best one in all his life at Hogwarts…which is most of it, he said."

"So why are you here?"

"Oh, it's Moony's night again. I have to tell you…we've gotten a whole lot more werewolf support in this war because of you, Harry."

"What did I do?"

"Moony took your post-wolf refreshing potion instructions. The werewolves love it. They say you are a good person, for helping out with this. Most have agreed to help, or at least not join the opposing side."

The fire burst into emerald flames, and Moony stepped out. "Harry! How are you? I heard about the game, terrific snag."

"Thanks Moony. What took ya?"

Remus turned a little red. Sirius looked as if Christmas had come early. "Ah Moony…is Tonks keeping you?"

Harry couldn't believe his ears. "Tonks? You and…wow…didn't see that one coming. Well…"

"There is nothing with us. Even if there was, there can't be, as you know why."

Before Harry could argue, however the man began his transformation. "Cut it close, did we?"

So Harry spent the night with his father's best friends, just as they had so many times before.


	14. The Ring

Chapter 14: The Ring

It was two in the morning when Harry called it a night and bid farewell to a wolf and dog. He disappeared in flames and boldly went straight to the common room, hoping no one was still up that might catch him. Of course, they would just think it was a random phoenix….but still, he was rather reckless.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk…" A voice came, as he appeared. He whirled around, wings flailing awkwardly. It was Ginny.

He quickly turned back into a human and glared at her, but with amusement in his eyes. "You really had me worried for a minute. You shouldn't scare me like that."

"You shouldn't be poofing in here like that. Anyone could have seen you. Besides, don't even act like you are upset. Your eyes give you away so easily."

Harry smiled back at Ginny. "You know it is late in the common room, with no one else here…how are you going to congratulate me on my wonderful performance in the match?"

This time it was Ginny who glared at Harry, but he also could see the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Mr. Potter, I wait up for you, and you come back…"

But Harry cut her off by walking over and pressing his lips firmly against hers. When they broke the kiss moments later, he said, "Don't even try to act like you are upset, your eyes give you away so easily." Then he leaned down once more, and kissed her.

After several minutes of snogging, Harry pulled Ginny into his lap and asked her, "So, Why were you waiting for me?"

Ginny closed her eyes as Harry played with her hair, and leaned into his touch. Harry found he really enjoyed this. She then mumbled her answer, "I actually tried to go to bed, but it was the first time since you were unconscious that you haven't seen me to bed. I wasn't necessarily nervous; I just wanted to see you again."

Warmth spread through Harry at that admission and he said, "I'm glad you stayed up. I don't think I'd have been able to go to sleep without saying 'good night.'"

Ginny turned so she was straddling Harry on the couch and she kissed him lightly and first, then the kisses grew deeper as she opened up his mouth and deepened the kiss. Harry's brain was working furiously and not at all. He couldn't think and couldn't stop thinking.

As it had happened a few weeks previously, Harry was able to focus enough on the thoughts that he needed to stop before he couldn't anymore. Harry was torn between what to do, but he stopped himself, breathing heavily. Ginny had also stopped, and they found themselves lying on the couch again, and Harry's shirt had come off at some point.

Harry swallowed, sat up, and looked down at the floor, and Ginny spoke up. "We kind of got a little too carried away that time."

Harry nodded, but his brain was still racing, and he could trust himself to look over at Ginny. After several minutes, they pulled themselves together, and just cuddled on the couch again. And once more, they fell asleep in each others arms.

_Harry walked through a house. It reminded him of The Burrow, but it was a lot bigger, yet still had a homely feeling. I had the nicest feeling about it. He passed several rooms; filled with things a child's room should contain: bed, dresser, closet, toys, and pictures._

_Je went downstairs, through the large kitchen, and out the side door. He gazed out at the large lawn with a fence around it, then a spacious field, spotted with trees._

_In the lawn sat the most wonderful family Harry had ever seen. Several young children—some with read hair and some with jet black— and the most beautiful woman Harry had ever seen._

Harry awoke smiling and completely refreshed. He gazed down at the most beautiful girl he'd ever see and buried his face in her hair. This motion awoke Ginny, who smiled and turned to she was facing Harry. "Morning, what time is it?"

"We've only been out a few hours. Five o'clock tops."

"How come I feel like I just had ten hours of sleep then?"

Harry smiled. "The same reason I do."

"And that is?"

"Because I was with you," he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Ginny just smiled and said, "I guess you're right. It happened last time." She paused and looked down Harry's body. "You didn't put you shirt back on?"

Harry hadn't realized this, and to hide his embarrassment he said, "Did you want me to?"

Ginny leaned into his mouth muttering, "No."

Harry's surprise at her reply was pushed aside as he again became immersed in her. However, they didn't lose control again, and decided they had better go up to their respective rooms to avoid suspicion.

As Harry looked for his shirt, he wondered aloud, "Now where did you throw it, Ginny?"

Ginny snickered, but then was confused as she too couldn't find it. "Er…I think I made it disappear."

"What?" Harry whispered urgently.

"Well, I don't really remember much of what I was doing," she blushed, but continued. "I do remember thinking how much easier it would be to…er…touch you, if you didn't have your shirt on. Then it was all of a sudden easy to move my hands around."

Harry was also blushing, but said, "Well, you are moving on there in your wandless magic." Ginny smiled and the tension passed easily. Harry said, "Well, everything that we vanish can be returned with a spell. So we will find out."

Sure enough, as Harry cast the spell, his shirt reappeared. Ginny frowned, and said, "I liked it better when it was gone."

Harry just smiled as he kissed her goodbye and headed up the stairs. "It's the Hogsmeade trip today," Ginny called up after him.

"I know," he called back, and entered his room, and found Ron already up.

At first, Harry was scared Ron would question him, but was relieved to know that Ron was too caught up in his own worries to wonder about Harry. Harry stared at his best friend in pity as he stared at his hands on his bed.

Harry spoke first. "Nervous about today?"

Ron's head shot up. "What? No…why would I be?" he asked all too quickly. Then he hung his head down. "I'm gonna screw things up…again."

"Like in third year, when you treated her like crap?" Ron's brow furrowed. "Or like last year when you treated her like crap?"

Ron looked up at Harry. "You aren't helping, Harry."

"Well, the way I see it…if she still likes you after all of that, nothing you can do today will change that. Just be her friend if you're too scared to do anything else."

"How did you get with Ginny, Harry? I never saw that coming at all."

Harry laughed. "I don't know how I pulled it off, Ron…but I've never been happier. I can't remember how I went without having her there before. I mean, I have loads of fun with you and Hermione…it's just different, having a warm body you can always pull in close, whenever you feel like it."

"That's my sister you're talking about."

"Yea, well Hermione is as close to a sister as I've got…so if you hurt her more than you already have, I'm going to hurt you…and you know I can now, mate."

Ron gulped and nodded.

"Just be like you have for the past few weeks and everything will go fine," Harry said reassuringly before he left the room and downstairs, again, to find Ginny, again.

Ginny was grinning broadly, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I just had the funniest conversation with Hermione…"

Harry snorted before saying, "And I did with Ron."

Both had been laughing and hadn't heard the portrait swing wide, and someone clamber in. "I thought you two might be up. Sirius told me a phoenix joined a couple old dogs last night."

The two teenagers swung around at the sound of their headmaster making his appearance. "Professor…what brings you here at 5:30?"

The kindly old man smiled and glanced around the room. "I hate to ask this of the both of you, but are you planning on anything big in Hogsmeade? Anything that you couldn't miss?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and smirked. Ginny answered, "Planning…what is this word you speak of?"

With twinkling eyes, Dumbledore said, "Good, good. Would I be correct in assuming you could spare an hour or two around noon? In the—" He stopped and looked at Ginny.

"Chamber?" she asked.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, impressed. "I have some important information to discuss, that I feel you should be aware of." He turned and walked away from the young couple. "Until then…have fun."

And they did have fun. Ron and Hermione came down shortly after the headmaster's departure, and in the few short hours previous to others' awakenings, Ron, Hermione (who didn't look at each other much, but when they did, they blushed furiously and looked away), Ginny, and Harry enjoyed some nice free time together.

Soon, the common room began to fill and Professor McGonagall came to escort them to the path to Hogsmeade. So they left, and soon the four of them were setting out together.

Aparently, Malfoy had decided that the incident on the train was a fluke, and that Harry didn't have anything to threaten him with. So, as the four left the castle, the Slytherin began taunting them. Because it had been so long since the sleek-haired blond had been at it, Harry was having fun listening to the pitiful, repetitive insults as he went through the Weasley's lack of money, Hermione's mud-bloodedness, and Ginny's poor choice in men.

Harry was pleased to note that Malfoy became very upset and soon he stalked off with Pansy Parkinson. Harry decided to play a nice muggle trick on him, and as he walked away, Harry waved his wand, writing "Kick me" on the back of Malfoy's robes.

Ginny sighed. "That was so lame, Harry."

"Yea, I know…"

Ron interrupted Harry, however, saying, "No, wait…is that Hannah Abbott? What is she—no way! She actually kicked him in the shins!"

More gratifying than Malfoy's aggravation and sore shins, however, was the fact that Ron never took the bait. Although, he did have to be calmed quietly as Malfoy affronted Hermione.

Ron spoke aloud Harry's feeling. "I always thought there was something missing this year. Now I know that it was Malfoy's lame insults."

They all laughingly agreed as they walked into the Three Broomsticks, unfastening their robes from the break in the wind. After several butterbeers had been drunk, Harry and Ginny stood and made their departure. "Well, we are off. You two have fun," he said smiling widely at Ron's face, which was more and more quickly turning green.

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand as she winked at a nervous Hermione and exited the building, pulling their robes close, once more at the biting wind. "Ok, Harry, we still have thirty minutes to get somewhere that you can flame us to the Chamber, but let's just go early."

So, Harry took her along the path to the Shrieking Shack. When they reached the fence bordering the property leading to the 'haunted' shack, something stirred in Harry's mind. Both he and Ginny whirled around with their wands out as three curses came speeding after them.

In reality, only one curse was well-aimed. The other two missed so miserably that it didn't matter that Harry and Ginny cast shields worthy of stopping the Cruciatus Curse. Harry instantly knew the source and he and Ginny flat out sprinted to the nearby tree cover that would soon unveil…

"Malfoy, I know you are here! Come out and fight you coward!"

Ginny also yelled as they moved closer and closer to the hiding spot. "What's the matter? Three versus two isn't enough. You need you guerrilla tactics that badly? A true Death Eater, through and through."

"Shut up!"

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all stepped out from behind their respective trees, as there was no way anyone could hide behind a tree with Crabbe or Goyle. Harry lazily held his wand out as Malfoy again began taunting them. "What's the matter, Weasley? Are you sick of Potter always saving you? We all remember a certain incident a few years back."

Ginny sighed, dramatically. "Yes, we do. You know the story…Tom Marvolo Riddle was a good listener. I told him all about our little fling, Draco. I seem to recall in my last moments before passing out in the Chamber of Secrets him saying that present-day Voldemort would not be pleased with you. I am a blood traitor after all."

Malfoy had gone white. "Y-you said w-what?"

Harry sighed as well. "Yes, she told me as well, right before Voldemort's resurrection. Then when old Tom asked me about you…I told him the truth. How you were alone and desperate at school, and had confided in young Ginny."

"But that's not true!"

Ginny opened her mouth and looked extremely hurt. "Draco! How could you say that!"

Crabbe and Goyle had begun looking at Draco in a confused and disbelieving manner. It slowly turned to confused disgust. Harry thought that they would never have a look of understanding. Confusion would forever be etched onto their faces. He had to stifle a laugh at the thought of them in their graves, looking confusedly at the people passing by to say their goodbyes.

"I don't know what they're on about," he said pointing to Harry and Ginny. "I'd much rather be with…Snape than _her_!" Of course, he had meant that he would rather be with anyone than Ginny, but…

Ginny looked delighted with this. "Did you get it, Harry?"

"I sure did," he answered merrily as he waved his wand and muttered, "_Tracio._"

Malfoy's voice rang out of the wand, saying, "I'd much rather be with…Snape."

Malfoy instantly yelled, "_Fernunculus!_"

"_Protego,_" Harry said indolently. "Really, Malfoy, is that the best you can do?" He turned to Ginny and said, "Hey, Gin, have you ever thought about how many U's _Fernunculus_ has. Well, now that I think about it, there are only three. But for that vowel, that is a lot of times to be used in one spell, don't you think?"

Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment. "I would have to agree. Arguably, the letter I is used three times as well in _Conjunctivitis_. However, you did say specifically for that vowel, so…"

"Also, I may be wrong of course, but _Fernunculus _can _also_ be spelled with a U instead of an E. I seem to recall it being spelled those two ways in two different, highly acclaimed, books. If this is true, then the spell _Furnunculus _has four U's, which is quite scary, really." Harry looked up at the three Slytherins. "What say you?"

Again, the two body guards looked at Harry in confused confusion. This time, however, they were joined by a very startled, and quite scared, Malfoy. "Who _are_ you?" he asked, simply.

Harry frowned sympathetically. "Poor Draco…oh, Gin, I feel so bad for him. What type of abuse did he take to the head to lose his memory like that?"

Ginny slowly walked over to the Slytherin, who began to shuffle backwards. "What are you doing…get away from me!"

She caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "It's me, Draco…please remember." He jerked out of her grasp and booked it down the hill, though the trees, and off in the distance. Ginny slowly turned to Harry and shook her head. "Pity."

Harry nodded his head solemnly before they both burst out laughing. "He'll be trying to figure that one out for a while."

So, finding themselves alone, Harry changed into a phoenix and transported himself and Ginny to the Chamber.

"Dumbledore should be here any minute," Harry said, and as if he had summoned the headmaster, the old man appeared through the emerald flames in the fireplace. "Or second."

"I'm glad you could make it," the man said, nodding at each student. He waved his hand at the sitting area while saying, "Shall we sit down?"

Harry nodded. "We shall." So they walked over to the sofas and Harry sat with Ginny, facing Dumbledore.

Dumbledore set the cup that Harry had found there in the vault down on the table in front of him. "Ok…let's start with The Order." Harry and Ginny both nodded, happy to feel trusted enough with the information.

"We have found headquarters. I wrestled with what to do all summer, but I have come to a decision. Sirius grew up in a…shall we just say a well-protected home. It is known as Grimmauld Place. We now hold meetings there, and many of the Order live there, as it is a large home."

He looked at Ginny and said, "You mother and father have relocated into Grimmauld Place and Molly is working on making the place look acceptable. Sirius obviously lives there and helps out.

"The Order is currently trying to keep recruiting of Death Eaters down and the Prophecy watched. There are no other major problems as Voldemort has yet to reveal himself and has not made any rash movements…which both worries and relaxes me. Our inside source," Harry rolled his eyes. As if Dumbledore didn't know Harry knew who the _inside source_ was. Dumbledore continued after smiling at Harry, obviously knowing his thought process. "Professor Snape tells us that Voldemort has contacted the giants, as have we."

Harry realized, sadly, that he had yet to visit Hagrid properly. Sure he saw him a few times a week in class, and spoke with him afterwards, but he felt a stab of guilt wash over him.

"And he has also made a deal with the Dementors. They are to stay where they are until they are told otherwise. Recently, Voldemort made an attempt to get the Prophecy. He didn't succeed, as he knew he wouldn't, which is why, I'm assuming, you haven't had any emotions pass through your scar."

Harry nodded. "That's right. I haven't felt or seen anything for a couple months."

"Again, a good and bad sign. It means nothing is causing him any strong emotion."

A silence filled the room as Dumbledore became lost in his thoughts. Bringing him out of his reverie, Harry said, "So, with this cup here, I assume there is more to this visit than news update."

Dumbledore shook his head and picked up the cup. "Indeed. Horcrux. And if my theory proves correct, there are four more of these out there. Tell me, what do you know about Tom Riddle."

"Greedy," Harry said. "So power hungry that he would do anything for it."

Ginny spoke up. "He was manipulative. He knew how to persuade you without you thinking you were being persuaded."

"Precisely. He manipulated every teacher in this school while he was here, and afterwards he put on a mask of innocence for years until he became Lord Voldemort."

Dumbledore checked his watch. "We only have a short time, so I will avoid the pensieve and give you the short version.

"Where did Tom Riddle come from? I was able to obtain a memory from a Mr. Ogden of a visit to a certain Marvolo Gaunt, last of the descendants of Salazar Slytherin.

The reason of his visit is not as important as what we learn about the House of Gaunt. On the old man's finger was a ring. No doubt a family heirloom. That is what we are after: the ring of Salazar Slytherin."

Again the professor checked the time and added. "We'll have time for a little longer history lesson. Merope Gaunt: Daughter of Marvolo, mother of Tom Marvolo. The House of Gaunt is located just outside of Little Hangleton. Merope fell in love with Tom Riddle.

"Being a witch, and not the most respectable, she had little to relate with the handsome prince of the town. However, when her father and brother were arrested and taken to Azkaban, she used her magic to…coax young Tom. Years later, she felt an enormous amount of guilt and told Tom. He left her pregnant and heart-broken.

"She wandered around London with no food and no money. She sold a locket, another heirloom, to a man in Knockturn Alley. He went by the name Caractacus Burke…of Borgin and Burke's. However, she lived only long enough to give her new baby a name and drop him at an orphanage. He lived there until I went and picked him up."

Another silence filled the room. Harry looked into Dumbledore's eyes and said, "Are we going, then?"

Eyes twinkling once again, Dumbledore nodded and dropped a memory into the pensieve. A house that was covered in weeds and vines appeared and its surrounding area appeared. "You two will make it there safely?"

Harry glanced at Ginny who was smiling. "Yes."

Dumbledore smiled, turned, and disapparated on the spot. Harry again turned to Ginny. "Ready?"

"Of course." And so, with that, Harry flamed them to their desired location.

Dumbledore stood outside of the house, near a door with a nail in it. Based on the blood stains on the door, Harry assumed something had been nailed to the door at one time. The bearded wizard turned to Harry as he transformed back into a human.

"Before we enter…I must ask something of you."

Harry and Ginny looked skeptical, but nodded for him to continue.

"I realize you are both very powerful magically, but I have several decades more experience than the both of you combined. I must ask you to obey me. Do as I tell you, no matter what."

Harry opened his mouth to protest. "Professor, you can't expect us to let you die or something like that."

"Do I have your word?"

Ginny spoke, "Sir, we understand you are more knowledgeable than us, but—"

"Your word?" Dumbledore interrupted.

Harry and Ginny sighed. "Yes," they muttered together.

Dumbledore's beard twitched and he said brightly, "Good. Then let's be on our way. Voldemort's soul fragments won't destroy themselves."

Harry raised his eyebrows, amused, but followed the eccentric man into the house, holding Ginny's hand.

Harry's first impression was not what he expected at all. He couldn't feel any magic around him in any way. "Are you sure this is the place, Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Oh, very sure."

"Why can't I feel any magic, then?"

Ginny interceded by saying, "Don't you find it odd that there is no magic? Even though we know wizards used to live here?"

Harry instantly understood. "So, Voldemort covered his tracks a little too well. There is no magic aura because he concealed it all. But we know there should be some magic here."

Dumbledore beamed happily at the two as they figured it out. "Precisely. Now, however we must find the entrance without the use of magical detection. Logic now comes into play."

They gazed around the small home. Four rooms: two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen were all that was present. "Well," Harry began. "We can never rule out a secret chamber underneath the home, as he had had experience in that sort of thing before."

Dumbledore appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Indeed. It would be incredibly difficult to hide magic as strong as a Horcrux if it were right here on this level. It would take weeks of wand work to obscure the magic emanating off of an object like that. It would make sense that he concealed only the wards protecting the entrance to a larger chamber."

"So, let's split up and find the entrance."

They did split up, and they scoured the separate rooms for any sign of openings. After just ten minutes, Ginny exclaimed, "How repetitive."

Dumbledore and Harry quickly arrived in the kitchen where Ginny was shaking her head at the sink. "I should have thought of this before." She pointed at the sink, and, sure enough, there were snakes carved into the handle.

Harry looked at Dumbledore, who nodded. "_Open,_" Harry hissed at the snake, and they watched as the sink slid out of place, leaving a set of stairs. Dumbledore lit his wand, and stepped forward warily. Behind him, Harry and Ginny walked behind, taking in the scenery that unfolded.

Harry instantly thought of an old adventure movie he had seen Dudley watching. The cavern that opened up before him as he reached the bottom of the stairs was eerie. The air was very still as if it hadn't been touched for years, and the magic within the cave was dull, but ever-present and strong.

Harry found it hard to believe that just above him was a cold, brisk wind that went straight through you.

Harry once again gazed around Gaunt's Chamber. It did look just like a cave, with stalagmites and stalactites jutting out from the ground and ceiling. A flickering light from torches that were magicked to never extinguish. There was a crude pathway leading to a brighter light at the end. Harry immediately began feeling around for any dangers.

There were some rather pitiful curses that would require no Bill Weasley to break; however, Harry once again felt that dull throbbing in his head as he had when he found the cup in the Chamber of Secrets.

Dumbledore continued on, slowly, muttering words of another language under his breath. Harry recognized it as a revealing charm. Dumbledore suddenly stopped, whirled around, and shouted, "Look out!"

But Harry needed no warning, for he had felt it coming as well; however, the warning came far too late. He quickly dove at Ginny, landing on top of her as a boulder fell, seemingly out of no where, straight on the teenagers.

The giant boulder cracked down the middle, ever so slowly. Two halves separated, falling apart, revealing Harry Potter covering Ginny Weasley, each closing their eyes. A faint white glow surrounded the couple, and slowly, they both opened their lids, and looked around them apprehensively as the radiance disappeared.

Harry looked down at Ginny and they shared a nervous laugh. Slowly, Harry's heart stopped racing, and he rolled off of Ginny.

Harry and Ginny stood up, dusting themselves off. Harry looked up at Dumbledore, and, for the first time in his life, he saw fear behind the old man's eyes. However, as relief replaced the fright, Harry threw a questioning glance at Dumbledore. "What spell was that, professor?"

The relief that had taken residence in the usually twinkling eyes of the headmaster changed yet again to confusion. "You mean you didn't cast a shield?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, both shaking their heads, and then back to Dumbledore. Harry always found relief when he saw the professor's eyes alight and dancing, for it meant nothing bad was happening, and that he enjoyed it thoroughly. So, when Harry saw the familiar shine in Dumbledore's eyes, he relaxed.

"Ok, Professor, what happened," Harry said in a bored voice.

Dumbledore's beard twitched and he said, "Oh, time will tell everything, of course. We must not get ahead of ourselves. We just narrowly avoided a catastrophe."

Harry rolled his eyes at the subject change, but decided it didn't matter at the time. "Alright. Voldemort obviously thought to allow only one person through here. We have to be extra careful."

Dumbledore nearly nodded and turned on his heel to continue the trek through the cave. Ginny and Harry shared a confused look and a shrug before following closely behind Dumbledore.

Nothing else happened until they reached the end of the crude pathway. Just in front of them was an endless abyss except for one spot. Across the vast emptiness, quite a ways away, Harry saw a dim light coming from what looked like a floating cave.

"No flying," Ginny said, frowning. "The brooms would fall halfway through that chasm."

Harry stretched his mind, and sure enough, halfway through the opening, a ward blocking flight was up. _I can fly, though_, Harry thought.

As he was about to tell them this information, Dumbledore muttered, "No, apparation, either."

Again, Harry felt the apparation wards that prevented Dumbledore from traveling across. _But I can teleport_, Harry smiled as he thought this.

Harry cleared his throat. Neither companion turned to ask what he had in mind. Instead Ginny said, "There may be an invisible walkway that Voldemort knows about so it wouldn't be a problem for him."

"Hem, hem," Harry coughed, mimicking Umbridge. In hindsight, it wasn't a great attention grabber as Ginny had long since been completely ignoring anything Umbridge said or did, and Dumbledore also tended to turn the other way when the toad entered or spoke.

Dumbledore nodded at Ginny. "Indeed, but it would have to be excellently concealed. Again, it would take much time to conceal something that long," he said as he stretched his hand out for effect.

Harry began coughing very loudly, but still neither turned to look at him. Then, he actually got himself starting coughing, and he couldn't stop, so Ginny patted him on the back. Unfortunately, as she wasn't really paying any attention to him, she hit him a little too enthusiastically and he went toppling over the edge into the deep gorge.

Of course, this would be the easiest way to show them his plan, merely fall off, getting their attention, _then_ turn into a phoenix and fly in front of them.

So he did.

As he flapped in front of them, Dumbledore frowned and shook his head, and Ginny glared at him before grinning. Harry grabbed each of their shoulders easily in his talons, and flew across the great gap.

Soon, they reached the levitating grotto and Harry let them down in the cave before turning back into the raven-haired boy with a lightning-shaped scar.

They gazed ahead of them, and there, on a pedestal with a dim light surrounding it, the ring of Gaunt lay. They guardedly made their way forward, feeling sharply with their mind for any more traps.

All seemed well.

The three of them reached the dais holding the Horcrux, and Dumbledore began waving his wand, casting charms in several different languages. Harry was able to track the majority of the spells the wise man was chanting, and had nothing to add when Dumbledore exclaimed, "It's safe.

"Having said that…we know how brilliant Lord Voldemort is. He may have found a way to mask the curse he has put on this. When I grab this Horcrux, I may have something happen to me. If I am unable to make a decision about my well-being, and you are unable to immediately determine what has happened," Dumbledore looked hard into Harry's eyes. "Take me to Professor Snape immediately."

Had Dumbledore's piercing, blue eyes not been so intensely boring into Harry's eyes, he would have objected. However, Harry knew he would get no where in this argument, so he merely nodded. Ginny, too, nodded her agreement.

"Good," Dumbledore said, and he instantly turned around and snatched the ring up.

Harry watched as his mentor blanched and swirled around saying, "Harry, _revierto heriontus_."

Harry's eyes widened as Dumbledore instantly began moving his wand quickly, pointing it at his hand. Having no need to get out his wand, Harry began to move both of his arms, casting the spell twice as fast.

As he cast the spell over and over again with Dumbledore, Harry spoke to Ginny. "Three jabs, clockwise loop—about six inch diameter—and a flick. Say _revierto heriontus_ at the flick."

Ginny nodded, and also began casting the spell, working her wand as Harry had directed her, but not before she noticed a gravelly, blackness creeping slowly up Dumbledore's pinky, deteriorating the skin.

The deterioration of his pinky started slowly, and as Ginny joined in, moved to a complete stop at Dumbledore's first knuckle. They continued the spell until Dumbledore sighed in relief and stopped. "Thank you."

He picked up the now empty-of-curses ring and sighed at his pinky. "It's a pity…but I'm sure it would've claimed my entire hand had I not had your help. It is a minor setback to destroying another seventh of Voldemort's soul.

"We are now three down, and three to go before Voldemort shall reach his demise."

Harry suddenly froze. Normally he was fine with the prophecy. He had accepted it easily, for he had known since his first year, deep down, that he would be the one to stop Voldemort. However, when Dumbledore put it so easily, as if Harry wouldn't have to even try to finish him off, it made Harry wonder, _What if I don't do it?_

Dumbledore had walked to the edge of the floating cave they were in and was gazing amazedly out at the strange world Voldemort had constructed. He was completely unaware of Harry's sudden mood change, but Ginny had been right next to him, and she instantly took his hand.

"Hey, it's going to be alright, ok?"

Harry felt warmth instantly shoot through his being and he grinned down at her and nodded. "Everything will be great, yea."

After several moments of watching Dumbledore wave his wand some more at the emptiness, Harry walked over to him. "Find out what it is?"

Dumbledore nodded. "He really was a brilliant man. It is unfortunate to have such a waste of talent. He was able to place this cave, which is really a part of that cave," he said, pointing to where they initially came from. "He was able to put it in this alternate zone. He placed countless wards in the zone, and I doubt anyone but him, a phoenix, and someone who had an extent of knowledge about dimensional transfiguration could have gotten here.

"Fortunately, you are a phoenix, and had you not been, and had I not been able to call upon Fawkes to help me, I could have transfigured this alternate dimension back to its original state, eliminating all of the wards around it."

Harry pursed his lips together and then said, "Should we destroy the ring here, or go back to the Chamber?"

"I will take the ring to my office, and over the next couple days, I should have it destroyed."

"But…Ginny and I destroyed the other Horcrux quite easily last time. Why aren't we—"

Dumbledore interrupted, and looked as if he was choosing his words carefully. "Ok, Harry, Ginny. You two are both very smart, I'm sure you've noticed something is different with…." He trailed off, letting the question dangle in the air.

Harry looked at Ginny and smiled. Of course he knew it wasn't normal. So many odd things had happened with them, and such amazing feelings that he was sure most didn't feel until they met the person there were going to marry. He knew they were different, although, for once, he was glad to be abnormal.

"Yes, Professor," Ginny said. "We know something is up."

"Ok," he said warily. "So, I will state this simply. You will find out soon enough what is different…having said that, I want you to learn about it for yourselves, so I won't answer any questions. Now…you two destroyed the last Horcrux because you didn't know how, and you just did what felt right."

"Right…"

"Now that you know you can do it, you won't be able to do it until you know _how_ you did it."

Harry raised an eyebrow, very unsure the old man's state.

Dumbledore again looked hard at both Harry and Ginny. "Just trust me on this one for now." And, having ended that particular conversation, he said, "We are done here, and Harry, if you would be so kind as to flame us back to the Chamber?"

Harry sighed, and after squeezing Ginny's hand again, he changed into his phoenix form and transported them to the Training Chamber.


End file.
